Changing Fast
by Orchid's in the sky
Summary: Armin Arlert has always been a good kid. Always got good grades, was on time for all his classes, and was always stayed out of trouble. He then starts his Sophomore year and seems to end up tutoring a fellow classmate of his (Jean) who has been heard of being a really rebellious kid. Will Armin only be his tutor, or get mixed in with this kids crazy life to? Jean/Armin
1. Chapter 1

Changing Fast

**Summary:** Armin Arlert has always been a good kid. Always got good grades, was on time for all his classes, and was always stayed out of trouble. He then starts his Sophomore year and seems to end up tutoring a fellow classmate of his (Jean) who has been heard of being a really rebellious kid. Will Armin only be his tutor, or get mixed in with this kids crazy life to?

**Pairings: **Mainly Jean/Armin. Theres some Jean/Marco and other fluffy stuff about. Bits of angst and jealousy. Different couples in story, later on there may be some Eren/Levi.

Rating:

T But may change later on. T now for swearing.

~ **Word from author**: I just started my Freshman year and I'm limited on my drawing time right now so instead I've been writing way more. The fic idea came to me while listening to music on my first day of school. I've been really wanting to write this for a while actually. So if anything seems off or the spelling or anything just tell me and I will try to fix it! Thanks for reading! also I had to re-upload this because something on here happened and it was cutting off words.. But here you go! -Celyoncastle~

It was a crisp morning on the first day of school and dark clouds rumbled over head as Armin climbed the steps of Rose Walls high School. It was about to rain and Armin wanted to find his way to homeroom as quick as possible. Luckily, he had been there his Freshmen year so finding his way about wasn't a problem. He quickly shuffled his way down to court yard and into room 134. There, he was greeted by a bright and warm smile from his best friend, Eren Yeager. Following behind him came a subtle and cute smile from Mikasa Ackerman, who is Eren's adoptive sister.

"Armin!" Eren runs to recieve Armin into a huge hug as if they hadn't seen each other in years, despite the fact they had seen each other all summer.

"Hello Eren," Armin muffled out through Eren's huge hug and patted him on the back.

" Armin. How are you?" Mikasa then said as Eren released Armin.

"Fine of course!' Armin said beaming with a smile. " You guys saw me a few days ago, I really don't think anything could change that fast!"

" You never know for sure," Eren said back. "Aside from that, whats your first period?"

Armin shuffled through his bag and then brought out a folder. He pulled a piece of yellow paper out and scanned through it.

"Ahh... seems I have English with Ms. Tanner ," Said Armin turning to Eren.

"Awh, I have Math first with Mr. Brooker," Eren said frowning and let out a groan. " What about you Mikasa?"

"I have English too, and with Armin," Mikasa said pulling at her red scarf.

"Eh!? Really? Thats not fair I'm alone," Eren mumbled.

"Oh but look we have second period together! And fourth and seventh!" Armin said happily.

Eren smiled. "It seems we do!" And as Eren said that the bell rung. "Ok! I'll see you second period Armin!" Eren waved at them as he left the class.

Mikasa grabbed her bag and made her way out with Armin in tow. The hallways were crowded as usual but the good thing was that it was first day so there really was no reason to use a locker yet. Armin let out a little sigh of relief, knowing that the first day wouldn't be to hard. Infact it was probably the easiest day of the year. He followed Mikasa into class and took a seat with her in the third row.

"Tch... It's that kid again..." Mikasa mumbled to Armin.

"Hm? What kid?" Armin asked looking around.

"That kid out in the hallway. The one with wierd hair," Mikasa anwsered pointing out into the hallway. Armin followed her finger and saw a guy who was pretty tall. He looked like a Junior or maybe even a Sophmore. He had Light brown hair and eyes to match.

Before Armin could ask Mikasa what was wrong, the teacher told everyone to sit down and be silent. The first day of school started like any other first day of school. The teacher droned on about her rules and what they would be doing that semester and the what she expected from each student. Armin, who was starting to get bored turned to Mikasa and in a low whispered asked, " Who was that guy?"

Mikasa, with her eyes forward responded, " That guy is nothing but trouble really. I'd stay away from him all together. When Eren and I came here during the summer so he could join up for football, that guy was here too. But he was very... Annoying. At first I ignored his flirtatious comments, but then him and Eren seemed to get into a very heated fight on who would get to join the team since only two positions are open, but it seemed this other kid had one of the positions already won so Eren and that guy started arguing about who'd go first for the tryout."

Armin listened then another question rose in his head. "Whats that kids name?"

"His name is-" Mikasa was cut off by the bell ringing and the rush of kids running out of the classroom. Armin was left in an empty classroom all alone. He shrugged it off and moved on to the next class which he had with Eren. It was Science 2 with Mr. Houston and Armin was really not looking forward to the class but at least he had Eren.

The day moved on slowly for Armin. It was 5th period by then and he had just had Art class with Eren and Mikasa. He made his way to his next class which was Algebra 2 with Mr. Pixis. Now Armin had something to look forward to. Not only that, right after he had Geography which was his other favorite subject too. As he entered the class he noticed someone in the back he had seen that morning. It was that guy who Mikasa had told him to stay away from. He was sitting in a lay back position next to a taller boy with lots of freckles on his face and dark hair.

Armin, deciding to heed Mikasa's words of warning made his way to the second row and set his bag down as he sat. He heard a soft scoff come from the back, who he assumed came from the guy whom he still had no idea what his name was. The class then started with Mr. Pixis heading to the front and introducing himself. Armin was so emorsed in listening to Mr. Pixis talk about his class that he barley noticed when he was hit by a paper airplane. But he still felt it. The plane had fallen down to his foot and he picked up looking around to see if he could catch who had thrown it. He looked behind to see that guy in a fit of quiet laughter. His friend on the other hand was telling him to shut up.

The guy then looked at Armin and gave a devious grin at him. Armin just glared back at him. He then crumpled up the plane and through it away, huffing about being taken away from the learning enviroment. As he sat down he felt another plane hit him behind the ear. He clenched his fists as he heard little bits of laughter from the boy.

"I'm glad you find my class amusing, young man," Mr. Pixis said turning from the board to look at the unknown guy.

'Yes!' Armin thought, 'Now he'll probably get in trouble!'

The guy stayed silent and just stared back at Mr. Pixis. Mr. Pixis sighed and turned around again to read the rules of the class. Just then the bell rung and everyone ran out including Armin. He wanted to find Mikasa and Eren as quick as possible for lunch, but Mr. Pixis stopped him.

"Armin Arlert, right?" He said.

"Ah... Yes sir that would be me," Armin said a little hesitant.

"I saw your math test scores from last years exams. What are you doing in Algebra 2? Shouldn't they have moved you up to Algebra 3 at least?" Mr. Pixis asked.

" Well, yes I was offered to move up but I declined. I want to learn everything in order even if I'm ahead in some things. But I believe its best if I go in order," Armin said looking a little bashful.

Mr. Pixis smiled and then continued, " I respect your decision, but anytime you want to transfer you just tell me. In fact I may have a little project for you."

"Sir?" Armin asked looking a little curious.

"You see not many students had great grades like you did in math. In fact they are way below with their grades. So if you don't mind, do you think you can tutor some for me if they start failing in this class?" Mr. Pixis said stroking his chin.

"Oh. I don't see why not. Yes I guess I could help you out," Armin said with an unsure smile.

"Great! I will tell you then if anything happens!" Mr. Pixis smiled and then shooed Armin out the door. Armin then ran to lunch noticing he had about 15 minutes left of it. He found Mikasa and Eren who were eating pizza and had an extra slice.

"Oh hey Armin!" Eren said with his mouth filled with pizza. Armin smiled and sat down next to Eren.

" Ew, Eren how many times have we told you not to eat like that?" Armin said chuckling and beaming a smile.

"What? Like this?" Eren then stuffed the pizza in his mouth, leaned in and chewed it mouth open in front of Armin's face.

"Ew, Eren stop! You're getting the crumbs on me!" Armin pushed Eren back playfully and laughing.

"What? I can't hear you?" Eren leaned in more towards Armin's ear. "I'm to busy chewing with my mouth open!"

"Eren! Stop! I'm going to fall!" Armin said scooting backwards away from Eren, but still laughing.

Mikasa seemed to see that Armin was right about him falling, so she pulled Eren by the collar of his shirt and tugged him back. He made a choking noise, then coughed a bit.

"Bleh! Ouch Mikasa! We were just messing around!" Eren said facing her.

"Armin was about to fall," Mikasa said munching on her food.

"Ah, he would have been fine! Were not babies!" Eren shot back. "Hey Armin, why were you so late to lunch? Oh and by the way that slice is for you," Eren said pointing to the triangular box.

"Oh thanks!" Armin exclamied opening the box and taking a bite of pizza. " , my math teacher was asking me if I could tutor a few students for him if they start to fail."

"Did you say yes?" Eren asked.

"Well yeah I did. It's not like I really have anything better to do," Armin said biting the pizza a few more times.

" Oh, and that one kid is in my math class Mikasa. The one we saw this morning who you told me not to go near?" Armin said looking at her. She gave a little nod.

"Huh? Which kid?" Eren asked looking between Armin and Mikasa.

"The one at the football tryouts," Mikasa told Eren simply.

"Oh that asshole? Augh I wish you would have at least let me punch him or something Mikasa! Might have shown him in his place! He didn't bother you did he, Armin?" Eren asked to Armin.

Armin gulped. He knew fully well that to Mikasa and Eren, he was their baby brother in a way. They have always protected him from bullies and shielded him from the hatred of others. But Armin was starting to feel ashamed that any time he got hurt or teased, Mikasa and Eren would have to stand up for him, when all he did was sit back quietly and feel useless.

"No, he didn't," Armin said bluntly as he looked down at his pizza. He hoped that had worked. He looked up to see Mikasa and Eren staring intensely at him. Armin gulped and scotched back a bit.

"Armin, you've always been a terrible liar," Eren said shaking his head and Mikasa nodded her head in approval of what Eren said.

"I-I'm not lying!" Armin said quickly his face becoming flustered.

"Quick to defend what he said... He must be lying..." Mikasa told Eren.

" And a flustered face, too. Isn't that a way to tell for certain?" Eren said back to Mikasa.

Armin looked down, cheeks red and brows furrowed. He pouted at them as he looked back up.

"Awh Armin, were just teasing you," Eren said in a playful way and putting his arm around Armin. " But seriously, what did that dochuebag do to you?" Eren glared a bit and his voice changed to serious mode.

" It was nothing serious! Honestly!" Armin told Eren who was still staring at him intensely.

"Are you sure? Then I have a real reason to beat up the son of a bit-"

"NO, Eren no fighting! You know how that effected you last time," Armin scolded Eren.

"Yeah but that time it was really worth it! That guy shouldn't have done that to you!" Eren pouted back.

"Look I know what he did was wrong... Trust me I know. But at least hes paying the price for what he did now. You didn't necessarily have to beat him up," Armin said looking down.

"Didn't have to!? Armin, of course I had to! Listen what he did is-" Before Eren could finish the bell rung telling them lunch was over. Armin picked up his bag and stood up.

"I'll see you after school then," Armin then left. He really didn't want to discuss that topic anymore. It was in the past and it was wound he didn't want to reopen.

On the brighter side, he had Geography as his last period. He was super happy about that, since it was his favorite subject in the world. On the duller note, that guy was walking directly beside him. He was a little intimidating looking and had a really annoyed look on. Armin decided to look over to him and they met eyes. The guy glared at Armin a bit.

'Oh no, oh no, oh no,' Armin's mind raced with fearful thoughts. 'Hes going to beat me up. What do I do?' Armin's heart was racing. But luckily he saw the Geography class just a few steps away. They both entered at the same time and Armin was happy to be in a safe environment. Then his heart dropped again. There were only two seats left open, side by side. And all the way in the back. Armin hesitated, then slowly moved to his seat. The guy sat beside him and snickered at Armin when he noticed how annoyed he looked now.

They had a new teacher this year and his name was . He had slick blond hair that was combed back and sparkling blue eyes. He wore glasses and a white button up shirt with khakis.

"So, this is my new class? Well then, I'll start by saying my name is Irvin Smith. But you will all address me as ," He said coolly. "I expect you all to be fine young folks and pay attention in my class."

The boy next to Armin scoffed and then began to scribble on the desk a bit. Armin ignored him and payed attention to the teacher.

"I'll start with roll. Let's see who's first... Amelia Anton?" looked around for the girl who was up front raising her hand. She had brown hair the was up to her shoulder.

"Armin Arlert?" He said next.

"H-Here, sir!" Armin said raising his hand. Armin turned a little pink when the boy next to him chuckled a bit as if mocking him.

Armin felt him and this kid wouldn't get along at all. He had met kids like that before. They were rude and inconsiderate and only thought about themselves. They were just jerks.

"Jean Kirschtein?"

"What?" Armin looked over to the boy who had just said that.

'So his name is Jean?' Armin thought.

"That correct term is 'present' or 'here' Mr. Kirschtein," said.

"Whatever. Here," Jean said and lied back in his chair. ignored him and continued.

"Now that roll is over, let me tell you this will be your permanent seat for the rest of the year," Said .

Armin wanted to sink into the floor. Just great. He was sitting next to that guy for the rest of the year. Just great. He knows he shouldn't be freaking out about it but he really rather sit somewhere else. The rest of the class was the rules and expectations for the course they were taking.

Class soon ended. Armin was relieved. It was finally time to go home. Right before he exited he was bumped into very hard making him hit a wall.

"Hey!" Armin yelled back. It turned out the only one there was that Jean kid.

"What girly?" Jean said harshly. Armin felt his face go pink a bit at that comment.

"I-I'm a boy! And watch where your going!" Armin stuttered out.

"I know you're a boy, I'm just teasing you. I guess I'll just call you Shorty since you're so sensitive about girly," Jean told him back. Armin's face flustered up.

"I'm not that short..." Armin looked down a bit feeling like he was stomped on.

"Jean! Hey, leave the poor kid alone," the voice came from that boy from math who was sitting with Jean in math.

"Sorry about Jean. Armin Arlelt, right? I'm Marco Bott," the boy said and smiled kindly at Armin.

"You shouldn't be so nice either, Marco. People will walk all over you. Like him," Jean said pointing to Armin.

"Shut up, Jean. Well it was nice meeting you. So we'll see you tomorrow!" Marco waved at Armin and he left with Jean in tow. Armin noticed though that Jean turned around a bit and met Armin's eye. Armin looked away and Jean did the same. He then sighed as he saw them exit. Then he also made his way out of the building to look for Mikasa and Eren.

~Five weeks later~

It seemed like school was passing by like a breeze. But teachers were still handing out homework and huge assignments every week. Armin was working his butt off not only trying to get everything in on time, but also helping Eren with his projects and Mikasa as well. He was always trying his hardest on every quiz and trying to keep his grades up top.

The only problem he had was that the first week of school he was a period short because the office had messed up his schedule. He'd spend the extra period reading in the library waiting for Mikasa and Eren to finish their classes. But then, on his second week he got his fixed schedule. He had got P.E. for sixth period now. That was the one class Armin wish he could skip.

Another thing that bothered Armin was that Jean was always bothering in Geography. He was always calling him 'Shrimp' or 'Girly' or some other name around those exact same lines. The worst one he had heard was 'The boobless blonde'. Armin was pretty use to it all though. He had been teased his whole life so he had created some sort of tolerence to it. Of course it did bother him from time to time, but he never said anything.

"It seems like you know everything, Armin," whined Connie Springer who is in Armin's third period, which is Health class.

" Hey Connie? Do you think he has an alien in his head who tells him all the anwsers?" asked Sasha Braus who was on the other side or Armin.

"No way! I think he had brain surgery done on him when he was little by evil scientist! But Armin became so smart he escaped the labs. Then he decided to live the life of a normal human boy so he wouldn't be caught!" Connie exclaimed back.

"Eh!? Is that true Armin?!" Sasha said sounding very convinced.

"What? No of course that's not true, Sasha. Connie is just trying to fool you," Armin said smiling at Sasha.

"See Sasha? He's trying to cover up the truth! Just so those scientist won't come and try to pick his brain!" Connie told Sasha in a really shrilled voice.

"That's scary!" Sasha exclaimed.

"Connie stop feeding her lies... You're just going to get in trouble from doing that. Besides you're not even done with your work," Armin said giving a quick look to Connie.

"Psh... I'll get it done! I'm smart to Armin! So don't underestimate my intelligence!" Connie exclaimed. He then began to look over Armin's shoulder and copy down the answers Armin had written down.

"Are you serious?" Armin said glaring a bit at Connie.

"Eheh... yes..." Connie said smiling at Armin.

"You're never going to learn anything, Connie if you don't at least try. Look, number four shouldn't be to hard. Why don't you try that one out?" Armin said pointing at Connie's paper.

Suddenly the speaker in the class went on. Everyone in the class turned silent and looked up to it.

"Excuse me for the interruption, Mrs. Knauss. Could you please send Armin Arlert up to the office? immediately. Thank you," The intercom then shut off with a click noise and everyone's heads turned to look at Armin who had turn a little pale.

"Well, then Armin. You'd best by on you're way up there," Said Mrs. Knauss.

Armin picked up his bag and opened it. He began to put his supplies away and then proceeded by closing it and putting his bag on. He then made his way out of the classroom with everyone still looking at him. He closed the door and began to walk down the hallway.

A million things raced through Armin's head. He had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen.

'Have I done something wrong?' Armin thought. 'Maybe I forgot a book or paper somewhere? But they wouldn't call me up on the intercom for something like that... Then what's happening?'

Armin had gone into a cold sweat. He then reached the office, knees shaking in fright of what would happen. He opened the door and went up to the lady sitting behind the desk.

"Um. I'm Armin Arlert... I was called up to the office," Armin was trying to make his voice straight but it was all coming out shaky.

"Ah yes. Just go between those doors there, and you'll see and Mr. Smith and Mr. Pixis ," the lady said pointing to a brown door that was to the right of her. Armin nodded his head and headed that way. He was really confused now. Why would and need him?

Armin opened the door and entered closing the door behind him. He turned to face his two mentors, knees still shaking in anticipation of what was going to happen.

"Hello, Armin!" Mr. Pixis said smiling.

Armin was so scared that he felt a little faint when he heard Mr. Pixis first talk.

"H-hello and ," Armin said voice still shaky.

"You don't have to sound so worried, Armin. You're not in trouble about anything," Mr. Smith said with a small pause. "We just need to talk to you."

Armin felt relief course through his body, like a splash of refreshing water. He let out a deep breath and smiled.

"Oh. What is it that you want to talk to me about, Sir?" Armin said looking at .

"As you may know asked you if you could help with tutoring. We've seen your grades and how you always manage to do your best at everything. Well it seems we have a student you could tutor. Are you willing to take this job?" explained Mr. Smith.

"Of course I can! It shouldn't be to hard!" Armin said with a bright smile.

"We thought you'd say yes. Since we don't want to burden you, we've decided to give you only one student since we understand you also have your own work to get done," Mr. Pixis then said.

"We've put you with... Ah... I had the list a moment ago..." Mr. Smith then began to look around the desk that was behind him.

"I can't seem to find the paper... Oh here it is. Thais strange the name isn't here... Well, anyways here's the list on the subjects you'll be helping this student with," Mr. Smith then handed Armin the paper.

On it were at least every subject Armin was taking that year. This poor student seriously needed some help.

"Oh and one last thing. Since we don't know the students name, even though we just talked to them, you'll just meet them up in the library after school. Is that ok?" asked Mr. Pixis.

"Yes that's fine," Armin said scanning over the paper again.

"And one last thing. Can you give this to Eren? We'd give it to him but since we know you two are close friends we thought you could do it. Tell him he'll meet up with his tutor in room 204," Said Mr. Smith .

Armin's jaw dropped. 'Eren?! He needs tutoring?!'

"Y-yes, Sir. Well I'll be on my way. Goodbye Mr. Pixis and Mr. Smith ," Armin said taking Eren's paper and walking out of the room.

He skimmed over Eren's paper which said he needed tutoring in English. Armin gave out a small chuckle. He then wondered who'd be Eren's tutor.

Armin then walked to his next period since period three's bell had just rung. He went to art class which in fact he did have with Eren. He went straight to his seat to see Mikasa and Eren already sitting on the chairs beside his.

"Hey Armin! You're a little late! What's up?" Eren asked.

"Nothing much. I was at the office because the called me for the tutoring program. I'm supposed to meet this student at the library," Armin told them.

"Ah that sucks. Seems like you won't be able to hang out with us after school anymore,' Eren said pouting a bit.

"Oh! I almost forgot. This is for you, Eren," Armin handed Eren the tutoring sheet and saw Eren's face go a little pale.

"E-Eh!? Tutoring for English!? T-this can't be right?!" Eren exclaimed a bit.

"Heh its alright Eren. Its only until you get your grade up to a passing point. At least your tutor has it easy. My student is failing in almost every class," Armin said tugging at the end of his locks.

"Woah really!? Well give them hell Armin!" Eren said smiling.

Armin smiled. He then looked at Eren's paper.

"Your tutor is... Levi Rivaille? Thats a strange name. You guys are going to be in room 204. Ah... Sorry that we have to leave you alone Mikasa," Armin said giving an apolegetic look to her.

"Its alright. I'm thinking of joining a sport actually," Mikasa said bluntly.

"EH!? R-Really!?" Armin and Eren said together at the same time in surprise.

Mikasa was taken back a bit.

"Well, yes. I thought it'd be a great way to spend some time do something else this year. That and Eren told me to..." Mikasa looked down when she said that.

"I only told you that because you need to make more friends to. You can't baby me your whole life, Mikasa," Eren said a bit harshly.

Mikasa looked a little sad. Armin knew she always had a neutral face on, but over the years Armin was able to tell what she felt. It was in her eyes. To break her from her sadness Armin asked a question.

"What sport are you thinking of playing?" Armin piped up.

Mikasa looked up at him. Her eyes looked a little glassy but then she gave a tiny smile as if saying 'Thank you for caring,' to Armin.

"I've decided to join baseball this year. Ymir and Christa are joining so, I though I would, too," Mikasa told Armin.

"Thats good. I heard the captain is really nice. I believe her name is Hanji Zoe. I've talked to her once, so I don't know very well," Armin said with a little smile.

"Hey, let her figure out the captains name or else she'll never ask them," Eren then interjected.

"You needed my help just finding the coach. At least I can find out were to go," Mikasa then said back.

Eren turned a bit red from his cheeks. "T-That was one time only! And plus I talked to him in the end!" Eren said in his defense.

Armin laughed as he saw the two bickering. He knew Mikasa meant no harm. She loved Eren with all her heart. She may seem cold, but she was really sweet indeed. Armin really loved her like his sister.

The day passed by quicker then Armin expected. He was in Geography, listnening to talk about the subcontinents and there forms. He could hear Jean scribbling on his paper. Armin decided to peak over and see what he was doing. Sure enough he was doodling something. Armin scoffed and returned his attention to .

The bell then rang and everyone left in a hurry. Except Armin. He was in no rush. He slowly packed up his stuff then began to walk out of the class.

"Armin, don't forget," called out Mr. Smith.

"I won't !" Armin called back. Armin made his way to the library. To tell the truth, he was a bit excited about becoming a tutor. He also wondered about who his new student would be. Armin opened the libraries door and entered. He walked past the huge bookshelf's, heart thudding in excitement.

'Just as I turn this corner I'll see who's my new student!' Armin thought to himself.

Armin turned the corner and stopped dead in his path. Armin felt like he had gone pale white again. He wanted to run back out the door and tell he wouldn't do it. But he knew know that he couldn't. Sitting at the table, were Armin was staring at, sat Jean Kirtchenstien looking out the window.

Armin gulped.

~**Author's note:** Is gulp even a word? Thanks for reading! will make a part two soon and have it up! By the way I'm having a problem! When I type Mr. And a name It doesn't Show up! Why is that? Can someone help me please!?~


	2. Chapter 2: Deal

~**Author: **Hey guys! Thanks for all the views and follows! Hope you stay with me until the end! Well enough about me. Heres chapter 2! btw I make chapters really long cause I want to get everything in there... Sorry if I jump around a lot~

Chapter 2: Deal.

Armin wanted the floor to swallow him. He really didn't want to tutor Jean. Anyone but Jean. Armin quickly walked behind a bookcase, making sure that he wouldn't be noticed by him. He knew he'd be made fun of by Jean even more now that he had to tutor him.

'But then again... He needs me. Without me he won't pass... So he has to respect me. Or else,' Armin thought to himself with a small smile. Armin still hadn't full convinced himself he wanted to go over to Jean and tell him he was his tutor. He knew he had to, but he didn't want to.

Jean on the other hand was sitting at the table, impatiently tapping his foot as he looked out the window. He really didn't want to be tutored. He didn't see the point. Why would they want him to be tutored if he didn't even care? He thought it was a huge waste of his time. He tilted his head to look out the window beside his table. He really wondered what dumb kid decided to take up this job.

'Probably some no-life loser who can't get into a girls pants,' Jean smirked. He knew he was probably right about that. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye and he turned to look. Nothing was there. He swore he saw something.

'Maybe its just some kid looking for books,' Jean thought rubbing his eyes. When he stopped, he looked forward to see a pair of hands clutching a book. He brought his eyes to look up.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Jean said as he looked at Armin.

" I-I'm your tutor I believe," Armin managed to say.

"How do you know I'm the student, Blondie?" Jean shot back.

Armin took a breath. The insults were already starting and he haven't even stood there ten seconds. He gave a quick glance around and then looked a Jean with a weird face.

"Seriously? Okay first off that comment you said kind of gave it away. And second you're in a library. That's just weird and not normal. Besides you're just sitting here doing nothing, which is totally normal by the way," Armin said with a small smirk.

Jean turned a little pink. He felt the heat on his face and looked down a bit.

"Whatever Girly," Jean then said. Armin frowned, but then smiled. Jean didn't have a comeback.

'Score one for Armin!' Armin said in his mind. He was happy he finally had Jean in a corner.

"Well then. Lets start. What do you want to do first?" Armin asked as he began to sit down in the chair opposite from Jean.

"Me? I don't wanna do anything. How about this? You do my homework, and I don't beat you up?" Jean said menacingly.

"Hah! As if you would. You lay a finger on me and Mikasa and Eren will be all over you!" Armin said with a laugh.

"Oh that's right! I forgot you're not man enough to stand up for yourself," Jean said with a mean smile.

Armin's cheeks turned bright red. He then felt a ping of hurt. He looked down as if in defeat. Jean noticed that quickly and felt bad for what he just had said.

"Hey I didn-" Jean began but was cut off by Armin.

"Well If you won't pick a subject I will," Armin said looking up and smiling.

Jean was shocked. This kid looked sad a few minutes ago and now hes smiling like nothing happened!

"Let's start with Geography," Armin said reaching out to look at Jean's papers.

"Why Geography? We sit together in that class and maybe I'd pass if you let me copy every once in a while, Girly," Jean said in an irritated voice. Armin looked at him and furrowed his brows.

"I told you to pick a subject! But you didn't! And stop calling me 'Girly'! I'm a boy! Do you even know my name?" Armin said his voice rising with frustration.

"Yeah of course I know your name," Jean replied.

"Oh really? What is it then?" Armin asked still a bit frustrated.

"He-man..." Jean chuckled out.

Armin's eye twitched. He let out a breath of air and then glared at Jean for a while.

"That's not my name,' Armin then broke the silence.

" Okay fine. Whats your name then, Girly?" Jean said with a smirk.

Armin felt his lip twitch in anger. He stared at Jean a little bit longer.

"It's Armin Arlert," Armin told Jean with a forced smile.

"Pfft! You have a weird last name," Jean commented.

"Oh yeah. Thanks," Armin grumbled. "What's your name then?"

"Jean Kirtchenstien," Jean said with a proud smile across his face.

"Hah! You said I have a weird last name? Yours is even worse! I bet if someone said Kir and then sneezed we'd all still understand they were saying your last name!" Armin exclaimed.

'Kids got sass,' Jean thought to himself with a small smirk.

"Oh yeah? Well who the hell names there kid 'Armin' anyways?" Jean protested back.

" Oh please. Its not as sad as naming your child 'Jean'," Armin snickered.

Jean laughed a bit. This kid wasn't to bad. They both smiled and chuckled for a minute more until they were left in total silence. Jean scratched his cheek and looked at Armin, who was scanning over Jean's Geography homework.

" You didn't answer any of the questions. Why not?" Armin asked Jean.

Jean looked at the paper and rolled his eyes. Armin stared at him waiting for an answer, paper still in hand.

"Seriously? I have better things to do then do homework. Its such a waste of time and I don't even understand the point of it," Jean replied to Armin who now was looking at Jean in disbelief.

Armin thought homework was way to easy. He really wondered what was so important that Jean did that he wouldn't answer a few simple questions. But then again, it was Jean. The kid who scribbled on desks and was always getting in trouble. Now Armin didn't understand the point of that.

" What don't you understand?" Armin then asked.

" I don't understand why we need to learn about land terrains, weather climates and all that other shit. Its not like I'm going to walk into a mall one day and yell at the top of my lungs, 'Hey! I'm standing on a low terrain! Isn't that amazing?' This is just boring and stupid," Jean said with an irritated voice.

Armin felt his eye twitch this time. What Jean had just said was a total insult, even if it wasn't directed to Armin. Geography was Armin's favorite subject and he really hated when people said things like that.

"It's not so bad. I'm sure if I teach you a few things about the land you would probably like it more," Armin offered.

"Or hate it more. Either one, so you better hope your teaching skills aren't shit," Jean said snatching the paper from Armin's hands. Armin sat there and looked at Jean again. He couldn't believe he was going to tutor this kid until he had a passing grade. Armin wasn't sure if he was going to be able to. He then wondered how Eren was dealing with his tutor.

"Are you going to just sit there, or are you going to help me?" Jean said, pulling Armin out of his thoughts.

"O-oh. Yeah! Um, let's see number one then."

An hour and half had passed and Armin was developing quiet a headache. They had just finished the english homework and were about to start on math. Jean had been such a pain though. Every few minutes or so he would always tell Armin that he was bored. But Armin would scold him and tell him to pay attention. Sometimes Armin would go into a lecture on what to do, but Jean always seemed to get off track and begin to daydream.

Armin was really getting tired of Jean's name calling to. He kept calling Armin names like other times, but since Jean was irritated, it was even worse. Of course Armin was doing his best in ignoring him.

"Come on, Barbie, this is getting really boring. Can't we just leave it at here?" Jean whined. He was hunched over the desk, drumming his fingers over it. He had sat there all afternoon listening to the blonde kid go on about all these subjects and it was pretty annoying.

"I'm getting hungry to," Jean grumbled.

Armin then noticed he was also pretty hungry to. He nibbled on the end of his pencil and thought maybe Jean was right. They should take a short break and return later.

"Alright then. I heard they are giving out a second lunch for kids who stay after school. But were only heading to the lunch room and then coming back. This math paper is due tomorrow and I don't think you want to lower your grade anymore," Armin said lifting himself from his seat.

"Yeah yeah I know. Its not like its your grade any ways," Jean said following Armin to the library door. The exited and began to walk down the hallway. They were both silent as they walked side by side, and Armin would sometimes give a quick glance at Jean to see if there was any sign of him wanting to leave.

The soon reached the cafeteria. Armin made a quick notice that there were a lot of students there to. Not a lot but more then he expected. Armin looked at Jean, who was already looking at him with a frown.

"What?" Armin asked with a frown of his own.

"Huh? Oh its nothing just got lost in a thought. I'm going to go buy a sandwich or something," Jean told Armin as he pointed at the register section. Armin nodded and made his way off to the vending machines. He decided he was more in the mood of some gummy worms or some type of candy then food. Eren always scolded Armin for having a sweet tooth and eating candy before a meal.

But Eren wasn't with him right now. So he could have as many gummy worms as he wanted. He pulled out his wallet and inserted the dollar bill in the slot. He punched in the numbers and then waited for his candy to fall. He bent over the pull out the candy happily but then his smile dropped to a frown.

"Nice ass girl!" Said some random kid sitting at a table with his friends. They were all laughing with him as they glanced at Armin.

Armin quickly stood up straight. A huge red blush spread across his face as he clutched the candy in his hands. He then moved very slowly away from the vending machine trying to avoid looking at the guys still laughing. Armin sat down at a table and stared at the candy bag that he had put down on the table.

He was used to being called a girl, but it always hurt and made him feel bad. He knew the guys knew he was a boy but they always found it fun to say that to Armin. Eren was the only one who respected him in that way. But Eren had been with Armin his whole life. Thais probably why Eren never crossed that line. Sure they messed around by calling each other names but they never really meant it. Not like the other guys did.

"Are you going to just sit there and stare at them or are you going to eat them?"

Armin was snapped out of his daydream to see Jean setting his tray down and sitting in the chair opposite of him.

"Yeah I was about to. Guess I got lost in a thought this time," Armin said with a smile.

Jean nodded his head and then began to eat his food. He had a small sandwich and a carton of milk on the tray along with a cookie and some carrots. Armin opened the bag of candy and grabbed one. He looked at the vibrant colors of the little candy worm then stuck it in his mouth, slowly chewing it.

"I heard what those guys said to you," Jean said before taking another bite of his sandwich.

Armin stopped chewing and stayed silent for a moment.

"Oh you did?" Armin then said. " I'm used to it. So I really don't pay attention to it anymore," Armin said pulling out another gummy worm and eating it.

Jean went silent. He felt bad for the times he had called Armin all those names. He knew he was lying about not minding.

" Don't you ever say anything back? Like you did to me?" Jean then asked.

" Sometimes. Other times Mikasa and Eren seem to do it for me. I never ask them to, but they just do it," Armin explained.

" What is it with you and them two?" Jean asked another question biting his sandwich again.

"They're really old childhood friends. I've been with them practically my whole life. We've always leaned on one another for help, like a family," Armin said with a small smile spreading on his lips.

" We are family."

Armin jumped in his seat and spun around to see Mikasa and another girl. The girl had blonde hair pulled back with her bangs coming out on one side and covering part of her face. She had really pretty blue eyes and was wearing a white hoodie with faded blue shorts.

"Oh! Hey Mikasa! What are you doing here?" Armin asked with a smile.

"I came to pick up a crate of water bottles for the team. Oh that right, I passed the tryout and they let me join," Mikasa said giving Armin a smile back.

"Really? Thais great! Eren will be so happy with you!" Armin said excitedly.

Mikasa then turned a little red a smiled at Armin again. She then looked at the blonde girl and pointed to her.

"This is Annie Leonheart. She's also on the team," Mikasa told them.

"Hello Annie, my name is Armin Arlert. Its very nice to meet you," Armin said flashing a friendly smile towards her.

Annie just stayed with a neutral face and nodded her head at Armin.

" Hey. I'm Jean. Jean Kirtchenstien," Jean told her as he finished up his sandwich.

Mikasa glanced at Armin who looked to be think a drift again. Armin then noticed a look of confusion in Mikasa's eyes and but on a 'What?' face. Mikasa's eyes wandered to Jean and then back to Armin who then understood why Mikasa had that look.

"Oh. I forget to mention that Jean is the student I'm tutoring. Well, trying to tutor," Armin told Mikasa and Annie.

"Hey, shut up, Blondie," Jean yelled at Armin. Armin gave out a small chuckle and then looked towards Mikasa.

To his surprise Mikasa was no longer there, but only Annie who was staring behind Armin. 'Oh' Armin then thought. He turned and just as he thought Mikasa had her arm down on Jean's shoulder. Jean looked pretty astonished and a bit scared. Mikasa then leaned in very close to Jean, who looked a bit bewildered now,and she opened her mouth to talk.

" If you ever, and I mean ever, hurt Armin... I will make sure you will pay greatly for it. Do you understand?" Mikasa said very menacingly to Jean. Jean smirked at her.

" I understand. But how about we seal the deal with a kiss?" Jean said playfully.

"As if," Mikasa said then pushed Jean back. She walked over the Armin and put her hand on his shoulder.

"If he gives you any problems Armin, just tell me and Eren. We'll sort them out," Mikasa said kindly.

Annie then spoke up, "Sorry to interrupt this weird intervention, but Mikasa we have to go and get those crates, now."

"You're right. Well, I'll see you after school Armin. Bye you two," Mikasa said as she walked away waving at them.

"Yeah ok! Bye Mikasa. See you Annie!" Armin waved to them still smiling.

Armin turned to eat another gummy worm but then was interrupted by Jean.

"Dude, you have to help me hook up with Mikasa," Jean said looking at Armin very seriously.

Armin burst out laughing. He sure hoped Jean was joking, because if he wasn't then it was kinda sad. But still funny.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Jean asked confused.

"S-sorry! It's just that Mikasa really doesn't have eyes for anyone else then Eren. So getting you two to date would be pretty hard!" Armin said continuing to laugh.

"Hey come on. I'm sure if you just talked to her about me a bit, she'd probably fall for me," Jean told Armin. Armin laughed even harder.

"I'm sorry really. Its just to funny," Armin said calming down a bit.

Jean grumbled at Armin, who was in tears from laughing. Armin then giggled a few more times until he stopped and put another gummy worm in his mouth. He looked at Jean who seemed to be pretty mad.

"Okay how about we make a deal of some sort," Jean began, "You help me try and get Mikasa and I'll help you with something you need."

Armin laughed again.

"Jean, I'm already helping you pass, so you're really in no position to make an offer like that," Armin said still laughing.

"Hey, I didn't asked to be tutored. But I am asking for you to hook me up with Mikasa," Jean told Armin. "Besides there must be something you want."

Armin thought for a while. He really couldn't think of anything so he just shrugged.

"How about I hook you up with that Annie chick? I saw the way you were looking at her," Jean said waggling his eyebrows.

Armin blushed quickly.

"Hey I just met her! I don't like her like that!" Armin protested while pouting.

Jean laughed at Armin. "Don't sweat it, Barbie. I'm sure shes into short runts like you."

Armin furrowed his eyebrows and glared at Jean. Jean quickly noticed. He didn't want to make Armin mad. Not if this was and opportunity to get with Mikasa.

"Ok look. Maybe you can't think of anything right now. But maybe later today or tomorrow you'll think of something," Jean explained. "So if I help you with that then you help me get with Mikasa. Deal?"

Armin wasn't so sure. He didn't feel right about doing this behind Mikasa's back. But at the moment he thought what could Jean possibly help him with?

"Okay sure. We have a deal," Armin said sticking out his hand. Jean shook Armin's hand and smiled.

"No backing out okay?" Jean told Armin.

"Fine. No backing out," Armin laughed and rolled his eyes.

He knew this deal wasn't going to end well for Jean. What could Jean possibly give Armin that is important?

"We should head back to the library if you're done," Armin told Jean letting go of his hand.

Jean nodded his head and opened his carton of milk. He quickly took a drink and then closed it. He grabbed the cookie and stuffed it into his pocket and then got up. He walked to the trash can a disposed of the tray and remains of his food. He then looked back at Armin and began to walk out into the hallway.

Armin quickly got up noticing Jean was leaving him behind. He grabbed his still not finished bag of candies and ran out after him. He caught up to Jean and walked next to him like he had before.

"So Eren and Mikasa are brother and sister?" Jean asked Armin.

"Well, they grew up together, so they are like siblings. But they're not blood related. You can probably tell, huh?" Armin said smiling at Jean.

"Hell yeah you can tell. There is no way someone as ugly as Eren can be related to someone as beautiful as Mikasa," Jean told Armin.

Armin laughed. Many people had said that before. Not so much that Eren was ugly, but they would say that there was no way they were related. But there love for one another was a families love.

"What about you and Marco? Are you guys cousins or something?" Armin then asked.

Jean laughed really hard and then gave Armin a funny look.

"Heck no. I met Marco in the 5th grade. We've been together since then. We always just clung onto each other like brothers," Jean explained.

"We've always get into trouble together and were always messing around. Well mostly me. Marco has always tried to settle me down and tell me to focus. But he babies me to much like a mother," Jean told Armin.

Armin then thought Jean sounded exactly like Eren talking about Mikasa. Armin smiled and laughed. The two were so a like. They soon reached the library and there they studied until Jean was completely finished with his work.

"Okay then," Armin told Jean putting his books away, "Were going to meet up here tomorrow. We don't have tutoring on Wednesday and Mondays, but since today is the first day we had to."

"Augh only two days? That blows. I have practice too," Jean said still complaining.

"Wait... You made the team?" Armin asked a bit dumbfounded.

"Uh... Yeah. Why are you so surprised?" Jean asked.

"Mikasa had told me that two positions were left and one seemed to be taken so you and Eren were fighting over it," Armin explained. "How did that happen?"

"Ah... well... Turns out me and Eren both exceeded standards and that kid was... um... above standards..." Jean said scratching the back of his head. "So, me and Eren kinda... bumped him out because we were... better."

Armin stared at Jean in disbelief. That would mean Jean also had a lot of physical strength just like Eren.

"So you just like... kicked the kid out?" Armin gapped at him.

"Well the kid had also joined up for soccer just in case so he's there now," Jean said smiling.

"Ah ok," Armin then looked at the clock on the wall which read 5:48. "Oh crap. I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Jean!" Armin waved to Jean and left the library. He went to the front of the main building to see Mikasa there waiting.

"Sorry. I kinda got caught up helping Jean out," Armin said rubbing his arm. Mikasa nodded and then turned to see a yawning Eren.

"That was so boring," Eren began. "But my tutor is pretty cool."

Eren beamed a smile at both of them.

" How'd it go for you Armin? Whose your student?" Eren asked.

"Ah it was pretty interesting. My student turned out to be Jean," Armin told Eren.

"What? You got him?! That sucks!" Eren exclaimed. Mikasa nodded in agreement.

Armin paused for a moment and looked at both of them.

"He's really not as bad as you guys think," Armin said.

Mikasa and Eren both looked at Armin strangely. Eren then burst out laughing.

"Whatever. Augh lets just go home. Come on Armin, me and Mikasa will walk you," Eren said walking off. Armin followed along with Mikasa behind also.

"How was the first day Mikasa?" Armin asked smiling to her.

"It was quite fun. We were told about the rules and ordered our uniforms. We also got to practice our swinging," Mikasa told Armin.

"I told you, you would have fun. You'll do great in baseball, Mikasa," Eren then said smiling at her.

Mikasa smiled back to him and then smiled at Armin. They soon arrived to Armin's apartment. It was a beat down looking place. It was a bright white but the walls looked dirty. The gate Armin opened to get in was rusted and falling and made a horrible creaking noise when it opened.

"Thanks guys. I'll see you tomorrow," Armin waved goodbye and entered his home. He climbed the stairs to the third floor and opened the door to his apartment. He pulled of his bag and set it down on the floor and walked into the kitchen. He began to rummage for food even if he had just had candy. Today had been interesting. But Armin felt bad for Jean. Armin was sure there was nothing that Jean could help him with at all. But in a way it made Armin feel better because that meant he wouldn't have to get Mikasa to like Jean.

Armin smiled and began to get ready for tomorrow.

~_Next day.~_

"HEY! Armin!" Eren called from below Armin's apartment.

"I'm coming!" Armin yelled back retrieving his bag and putting on his shoes. He had accidentally over slept because he was doing his own homework last night.

Armin ran out his door quickly locking it then running down the stairs with his jacket in one hand and some papers in the other. He opened the front gate to see Eren waiting impatiently.

"Took you long enough. What were you doing?" Eren asked as he watched Armin fumble with his bag.

"I was fixing my stuff and I over slept. Sorry," Armin said with a smile.

"Its okay. Come on lets get going before the first bell rings," Eren told Armin.

They walked down a bit and thats when Armin noticed.

"Hey where's Mikasa?"

"She had early practice," Eren said bluntly.

"Really!? But they just accepted her into the team yesterday!" Armin said suprised.

"I know, but they really want to win the finals this year," Eren told Armin.

"Ah, I see. Hey you never told me how your tutoring class went," Armin said changing the subject.

"Oh yeah. My tutor's name is Levi, but you know and he's a Junior. He's pretty cool. He's pretty strict at first, but he kinda chilled down towards the end of my lesson. I'll introduce him to you one day. What about you? Hows Jean treating you?" Eren then asked.

"He's pretty cool. At first he did tease me a lot with name calling but he seemed to stop a bit in the end. He's not as bad as I thought he'd be," Armin told Eren.

"Well, if he does do anything, you have to tell me and Mikasa ok?" Eren said very protectively.

"I know, I know," Armin said chuckling.

They arrived at school right when the bell rung. Armin ran to his English class and took his usual spot next to Mikasa. Only Mikasa wasn't there. Armin sat down and waited for her to show up. Right when the next bell rang, Mikasa showed up and handed the teacher a slip of paper. The teacher nodded her head at Mikasa who was giving a small wave at Armin. After that she left.

Armin sat in confusion. Were was Mikasa going? Was she still going to practice? Armin frowned. Now he was all alone in this class.

Second period was starting when then Eren was called for a quick football meeting. Armin was left alone in that class too. Armin sighed. Today wasn't going as fun as he thought it would be.

In fifth period Armin noticed Jean wasn't there. Armin frowned again. What was going on today?

"Mind if I sit here?" Armin looked up to see Marco.

"Ah. No its okay you can sit," Armin said quickly.

Marco smiled at Armin and sat beside him putting his bag on the floor.

" So you're Jean's tutor? Sorry if he's being a huge dick to you," Marco said with a small laugh. Armin smiled at him and laughed to.

"He's not so bad," Armin told Marco still smiling.

"Liar. He teases you doesn't he?" Marco said still smiling but with a worried expression on his face also.

Armin tensed up a bit. "Well, yeah he does. But I'm used to it so it doesn't really bother me."

" Jean's just like that. He makes fun of almost everyone he meets, but he never means any harm. Unless its Eren. I don't know what makes them both so mad at each other," Marco said chuckling.

"I know! But Eren is so stubborn he just doesn't know when to stop fighting sometimes," sighed Armin.

" Oh geez I know to well what you mean. Jean starts letting off steam on someone and he doesn't stop until hes completely burned that person," Marco sighed also.

They both looked up at each other then laughed.

"They're so alike, no wonder they crash!" Armin laughed.

" I know, but we can't tell them that or they might die!" Marco said scratching his cheek.

Armin smiled. It seemed like him and Marco were in the same boat together. 'Except for the part were he's way more masculine looking than you,' Armin said in his mind.

'Yeah, thanks brain,' Armin thought huffing.

"Hey by the way, do you know were Jean and Eren are? I haven't seen them that much today," Armin held his breath waiting in response.

"Oh it seems like the school wanted to talk to all the students in sports. Something about academic passing and trying there hardest," Marco responded.

Armin sighed. At least they hadn't gotten into a fight. The bell then rang and Marco got up with his bag in hand.

"Well I'll see you later Armin. I hope Jean isn't to hard on you. If he does give you any problems just tell me!" Marco said and then began to make his way out the door.

Armin waved at him and he picked up his materials and began to make his way to P.E. The one class Armin hated the most. Armin was smart and was good at almost everything he did. Except for physical excercise. Armin wasn't weak, but he wasn't strong either. He was probably the only boy in P.E. that was always behind when they ran the mile, the one to do the smallest amount of push-ups or sit-ups. Armin always gave it his all none the less.

Armin quickly entered the locker room and undressed, then changed into his P.E uniform. The coach soon came in and told them to come out and line up. Armin was at the end of the line, next to Riener and Bertholdt, who were the two he mainly hung out with in this class.

"Alright students," The coach, Mr. Dirk, began. "Today we will be doing the physical exam. Now let me explain, the test consists of push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks and other various exercises. Those of you who do not pass have this whole year to try again. If you do not pass this whole year, you will have to retake P.E. again next year."

Armin gulped. He knew he was going to be one of the few who wasn't going to pass. Armin never understood why he couldn't get any stronger then he was now. He was just like that.

"Were starting in ABC order. So first up we have, Silas Aberson, Johnny Abrick, and Tyler Ackles. Please come to the front here and I will began to tell you want to do. The rest of you can go sit on the bleachers or play some basketball," Mr. Dirk said. He then moved away and out of the court and into a corner were he began to instruct the boys what to do.

Most of the boys ran off the play, but not Armin. He sat down on the bleachers and let of a heavy sigh. He really didn't want to take the test. It was embarrassing to be weak in front of everyone else. He knew they were probably all thinking that he was such a wimp. Armin buried his face in his hands.

"Cheer up Armin. At least your not injured or anything," Armin looked up from his hands to see Riener and Bertholdt sitting on the step below him smiling. He wondered how long they had been there since Armin himself had sat down quite a while ago.

"Yeah I know but I just don't get why I'm so weak. I've always trained my hardest in P.E. but it always seems like I never bulk up like you guys," Armin told them with a frown.

"Some boys get masculine later on. You're still pretty young Armin so don't worry to much about it," Bertholdt said with a kind smile.

"But I'm not that young. Come on we hit puberty a while back. I mean just look at you guys and then look at me. Compared to you to I probably still look like a 7th grader," Armin pouted.

"You don't look that young! Besides I'm sure when the time is right you'll change. It's just some boys take longer than others," Riener told Armin with a reassuring look.

Armin sighed again. He really rather just leave and go to the library.

"Alright next three are up! Gerome Affenger, Armin Arlert and Jacob Babot."

Armin felt his heart sink and his stomach come out his throat. He got up and walked down the bleachers. Riener and Bertholdt were both giving him supportive looks and a thumbs up.

Armin stepped up to the line with the other two boys. Mr. Dirk gave them a little head nod and began.

"Each on of you will complete 50 push-ups first. After that you will do 50 sit-ups and 20 Ab crunches," Mr. Dirk said and continued with the list of the exercises they had to do.

"You will count aloud what number you on are. No cheating and give it your best. When I blow my whistle I want you to start. Ready?"

Armin felt his heart hop around. He was so not ready. But before he knew it, Mr. Dirk had blown his whistle. Armin quickly dropped himself to the floor and began to do the push-ups. He struggled at first but soon caught up to the other two when they were around 30. He finished soon after and began to do the sit-ups. Here he got left behind by both boys.

Armin felt his cheeks burning. They weren't burning from the exercises though. They were burning from some embarrassment he felt. The other two boys were son doing the 20 Ab crunches while Armin was halfway done with his sit-ups.

It felt like an eternity to Armin but he knew the whole excercise was only 10 minutes. he gave it all he could, but around the end of the Ab crunches he was feeling faint. Mr. Dirk then blew his whistle signaling for the boys to stop.

"Ok, so lets see. Gerome and Jacob you two passed!" The two boys cheered and then left returning with their friends.

Armin looked down in shame. He felt his cheeks burning and his eyes stinging.

"Armin... I'm sorry but you didn't pass. You'll have to try again," Mr. Dirk said in a soft voice.

Armin looked at Mr. Dirk with a pained face.

"Look son. I know its hard. But it's okay. I know a lot of boys who are late bloomers to. Just because I like you and you never seem to get in trouble, I'll give you half credit."

Armin's eyes widen and he quickly opened his mouth to protest.

"No! I want to earn it myself. Mr. Dirk I know I can pass this test. Just give me some time and I'm sure I'll get it," Armin said with a persistent look.

Mr. Dirk looked shocked but then softened his face.

"Okay. If you think you can do it, then I want to see you do it," Mr. Dirk said with a smile. "You're dismissed Armin."

Armin nodded his head and sat down on the bleachers. Riener and Bertholdt were no longer there, but they were playing basketball. Armin sighed once more. He was tired from the exercises so he closed his eyes to rest for a while.

"You failed the test huh?" Armin opened his eyes really quick. He turned to look at the person talking to him.

"Jean? What are you doing here!?" Armin asked in exclamation.

"Hey calm down. They switched my second period class and this class. I really don't understand why," Jean said rolling his eyes. " So you didn't pass huh?" Jean said with a smug look.

Armin's cheeks developed a small pink blush. He had failed at something. And in front of the kid he was tutoring.

"Don't sweat it. Anyways I'm going to go talk to the coach," Jean left Armin in silence.

Armin felt really embarrassed now. Not only that Jean was in P.E. with him now to. Oh how Jean will humiliate him when they do warm ups! Armin ran his fingers through his hair and then something caught his eye. He turned to see Jean doing the physical exam.

But the way Jean moved left Armin mesmerized and staring mouth a gap. Jean had a perfect form and balance. He moved swiftly and quickly with every push-up he did. Armin was really impressed. Jean's body didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat. Armin couldn't help but stare at how gracefully Jean moved.

After Jean had finished, the coach had said he had passed with flying colors. Armin really was surprised now. Jean gave a proud smile then walked over to Armin and sat next to him.

"You seem impressed," Jean said grinning at Armin.

"That was amazing!" Armin exclaimed. Jean sweared he was hearing things now.

"W-what?" Jean asked in confusion.

"You're really good at working out! You were so focused and it looked like you weren't even tired!" Armin told Jean.

"You think so?"

"Yeah! But why'd the coach let you go first? Doesn't your last name start with a K?"

"Oh, yeah it does. But Mr. Dirk knows im quick so he let me do it right now," Jean said grinning. Armin gaped.

'If only I were more like Jean in physical strength,' Armin thought to himself. Of course he would never say that to Jean.

But then an idea hit Armin.

"Hey Jean. Remember that deal we had? About Mikasa and all that?" Armin asked suddenly.

"Yeah, what about it?" Jean asked looking towards Armin.

"I think I know what I need your help with," Armin said pausing and looking at Jean also.

"Really? What is it?" Jean said very curiously.

"Will... Will you train me to get physically fit? Or to at least pass the physical exam?" Armin asked looking away with a slight blush across his face.

Jean smiled at Armin.

"Hey of course I will. Only if you help me get the girl!" Jean said reminding Armin.

"I'll try," Armin said smiling at Jean.

"Okay then. So it's set. You help me get the girl and I help you pass a subject you suck at!" Jean said grinning at Armin.

Armin pouted then laughed at Jean's comment.

'What am I getting myself into?' Armin wondered.

~**Authors note:** It wasn't until after I wrote this chapter I read another fic with this same idea about Armin helping Jean get Mikasa and Jean helping Armin with physical stuff. I really was upset at first and tried to change the deal but in the end I decided to keep it this way. I really didn't mean for it to sound like the other fic. Im very sorry if you guys think I copied but I didn't honestly! Sorry! Other then that I think I'll be updating once a week. I have school so it takes me a while to write this stuff. Thanks for reading and please hit the review button :D.~


	3. Chapter 3

~**Authors note**: You guys will not believe what happened! My computer deleted my file so this chapter took way longer to write than usual! Thanks for being patient and my bad. I had to cut some parts off that I wanted to write so I left a lot out. Augh sorry if it seems short but I tried my hardest in rewriting it!~

Chapter 3: Bad Day

It had been at least a week and a day since Armin and Jean had made their little deal. It was now Wednesday and Armin was quite happy it was. He had the day off from tutoring Jean. But sadly, he wasn't going to train with Jean that day, because he had football practice. Actually Jean hadn't trained Armin yet. He was to busy with practice and on the weekends, Jean would go into work. But that was ok.

Armin wasn't exactly holding up his end of the deal either. Trying to bring up Jean in a conversation with Mikasa and Eren was a bit hard without getting at least a negative comment on him. The only time he did seem to show up in a conversation was when Eren was talking about football or his tutoring classes. Other than that Armin wasn't making any progress.

Armin gave out a little sigh. His last class had just ended and he was heading to the office. Tutor's had to fill out a paper every one or two weeks on how their student's were acting and working. Armin decided to just get it out-of-the-way and do it today. I couldn't take to long.

And beside he had also told Mikasa he would meet up with her at the baseball field and cheer her on while she practiced. She greatly appreciated it and said of course he could tag along. Armin entered the office and went to the front desk were a young woman with Auburn hair was typing away furiously.

"Um," Armin sputtered out to her. She looked up at him and flashed a smile and Armin.

"Yes, what can I help you with?" She asked showing her pearly whites at him. Armin scratched the back of his head and looked at her.

"I'm here for the fill out. You know the one for the tutor's?" Armin asked still scratching the back of his head. The woman smiled again and then turned her chair. She opened up a cabinet behind her and pulled out a paper. She handed it to Armin along with a blue pen and then pointed to the couches near the entrance.

"You can sit there while you fill out the sheet. I'm sure it won't take long so go ahead and just chill for a moment," She told Armin. Armin was a little surprised she used the word 'Chill' so casually. 'She still must be young,' Armin told himself.

Armin made his way to the couch and put down his bag next to him. He began to read the first few questions and answer them while lightly tapping his foot. He then felt the couch shift to one side, as if someone had sat down next to him. Armin turned his head to see that someone had sat down next to him. It was a boy, who looked a bit older than Armin, but not too much older.

He had dark hair and long bangs. He also had a pair of narrow eyes and wore a black vest over a white button up. Armin glanced at his paper a to see if he could catch his name. On the paper it said 'Levi'. Armin made a little in ward gasp. This was Eren's tutor.

'So this is Levi,' Armin thought to himself. Just like Eren had said, he looked professional and focused. He had a bit of a scowling look, but at the same time had an atmosphere of kindness around him. Armin had to say something.

"So you're Eren's tutor right?" Armin was able to say. He felt a small blush spread on his cheeks from being shy. Levi looked at Armin and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I am. You're Armin, right?" Levi asked looking back at his paper and writing on it.

"A-ah. Yeah. I'm Armin. Um... How did you know?" Armin asked quizzically still looking at the dark haired boy. Levi kept his eyes on the paper though.

"Eren talks about you a lot. He gave me a pretty good description about you so I only guessed. Other than that I'm not sure what gave it away," Levi said sounding a bit sarcastic at then end. Armin chuckled to himself a bit.

"Eren isn't giving you any trouble is he?" Armin then asked returning to writing on his paper. Levi then was the one to turn and look at Armin.

"No. But if he tries to, he knows very well I will wipe the floor with his ass. The brat is pretty smart, but he's just a bit... hot-headed," Levi told Armin. Armin was laughing silently now. Okay, he really had no idea Levi was going to be like this. Not that he minded, but it was a whole change to him.

Armin really expected someone different. But he liked this Levi better than the one he had imagined.

"What about you?" Levi suddenly asked.

"It's okay. At first things weren't so well, but me and the student sort of get along well now," Armin said. He didn't mention Jean's name. Why didn't he? Armin felt a little shame creep up on him.

"Oh. Who are they?" Levi asked. Armin felt a small lump in his throat. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just say it was Jean? Armin didn't know what was wrong.

"It's Jean. Jean Kirtchenstien," Armin said rapidly hoping Levi wouldn't be able to catch what he had said. But Levi was able to hear.

"Jean, huh?" Levi then said finishing up the last of the questions. He gave on last glance at Armin and then walked back to the office handing the woman the paper. He came out and stopped to look at Armin.

"He's not a bad kid. And tutoring isn't that hard. I'm sure you'll be able to help him pass," Levi said. "I'll see you around, Armin. Oh and can you tell Eren not to be late for his class tomorrow? Or else."

Levi added a little emphasis on the end of his sentence. He waved to Armin and then left into the hallway. Armin was left in silence and an incomplete paper. He gave a little sigh. He began to think about why he was afraid of saying Jean's name.

'I'm afraid of being shot down,' Armin wasn't sure but he always felt bad when someone talked bad about Jean. Heck, when someone talked bad about anyone Armin felt bad. But when it came to Jean it was a bit different. Everyone always told Armin to be careful around Jean, as if in any given moment he would stab Armin. It was true, Jean was a little rude at first, like Marco had said, but once he warmed up he seemed different.

Armin was just happy Levi had been different. He didn't tell Armin to run from Jean. He didn't tell Armin that Jean was dangerous either. Instead he had told Armin something he had wanted to hear, but didn't know until now. Some words of encouragement.

Armin smiled and finished up the last questions. He handed the paper to the woman with the pen, then said his goodbyes and left to the baseball field.

When Armin arrived, he could see that all the girls were practicing swinging. The pitcher was none other than Hanji Zoe, the captain of the team. She had a wide smile on her face and exclaiming every once in a while when a hit impressed her. Armin made his way to a seat on the bleachers and saw that Mikasa was next to bat.

"Ooooh! I heard you're a very good hitter!" Hanji said with a bright smile on her face. "Well then, let's see if that's actually true!" Hanji pulled her arm all the way back and then launched it forward. The ball was going so fast that Armin had a late reaction to when Mikasa hit the ball and made it soar across the field and into the top bleachers.

Hanji stood in awe and then began to cheer. "WHOA! Did you guys see that!? That was amazing! No way are we going to lose the finals this year! Great job, Mikasa!"

Mikasa nodded her head and then turned to look at Armin. He waved at her and gave her a proud smile. She returned his smile with one of her own. She then made her way to the back of the line so she could bat again.

"She's very talented, huh?" Armin turned to see who had just said that. It was Christa. The little blonde gave Armin one of her famous child like smiles, which were adorable, and moved down to sit next to him. She was wearing the required shirt for the baseball team, but had her hair pulled back into a pony tail with a red ribbon.

"Hey, Christa. She is. I'm so proud of her for joining a sport," Armin enthusiastically said.

"She's the star of the team! Of course right after Hanji and Petra. I'm so glad she joined, too. She really has helped out since she joined," Christa told Armin. Armin watched the girls bat a little longer until he turned back to Christa again.

"Why aren't you going to bat?" Christa smiled a little sadly at Armin when he asked that. She brought up her right hand, and showed Armin that it was covered in bandages. He looked up to her in shock.

"What happened?" Armin asked with a worried tone in his voice.

"Ah. Well, when I was getting to class the other day, the teacher asked me to put the doorstop on. So I did and put my hand directly were the door shuts. Turns out the door was very heavy and pushed the stopper out-of-the-way smashing my hand," Christa explained with a small pained expression on her face. Armin winced a little and then very delicately grabbed her hand to check it.

"When did this happen?"

"About last week. You should have seen how hard the teacher screamed when she saw what had happened. Of course I freaked out but it looked like the teacher was the one who got her hand smashed in," Christa giggled recalling the image in her head. Armin just stared at her in disbelief.

"Didn't you scream or anything?"

"I had a bit of a late reaction to it. I mean, I felt the door hit me and all but it took my brain a while to process it all. The bad part is I can hardly hold anything right now so I can't bat," Christa pouted.

"You''ll heal up before you even know it. Then you'll be up and batting again," Armin smiled to her.

"Yeah! Ymir said that also. She really freaked out when she found out what had happened. She yelled at the teacher for making me do something like that and I had to calm her down. She also tried to take the door down, but the teachers stopped her before she could," Christa was still giggling at her own little story.

"She actually tried to take the door down!?"

"Yeah, she did. She was really mad that day. But I think it's great to have a friend like her around," Christa smiled brightly.

"It must be," Armin answered back.

"Well you must know right? You have both Eren and Mikasa at your side. It must be great having them around you all the time!" Armin gave Christa a half-hearted smile when she said that. He just gave her a small nod and then continued to watch all the girls bat.

"Okay then, ladies! We're done for today! Good job everyone!" Hanji shouted from the center of the field. All the girls then went to put their bats away and change into their normal clothes. Christa waved goodbye to Armin, and went to change her clothes also.

Armin waited on top of the bleacher's in silence. He sighed a bit and looked past the baseball field. On the other side he could see little figures which he assumed was the football team. They were also all making their way to the shower rooms.

"Ready?" Armin turned to see Mikasa above him with her bag and regular clothes on. Armin stood up and nodded his head at her. They then walked down the bleachers and to the exit. They both walked to the entrance of the football field and waited for Eren. As they did Armin thought he'd try to make conversation with Mikasa.

"So I heard the football team is doing great this year. Do you think they'll win the finals this year?" Mikasa looked at Armin and then opened her mouth to responded.

"I think they'll do fine. Especially since they have Eren, now," Mikasa told Armin.

"Yeah that and they have some other great players to," Armin said trying his hardest to mention Jean in the conversation. But no luck. Mikasa just nodded her head and they went back into silence.

Before Armin could say anything else, Eren showed up and greeted them.

"Hey you two. Didn't wait to long did you?"

"No, not really. We just got here actually," Armin replied to Eren's question.

"Oh cool. Then let's get going. I really want to go home and eat," Eren told them groaning.

"Which reminds me," Armin began, "Levi told me to tell you not to be late for class tomorrow. Or else."

"Huh? You met Levi!?" Eren said in shock. Armin nodded his head, making his little blond locks bounce.

"Yeah, I did actually, today when I went to go fill out the tutor's report. He is pretty cool actually," Armin admitted. Eren grinned at Armin.

"I told you he was! Ah... Did he say anything else?"

Armin tried to think back and remember if Levi had told him anything else. "I don't believe so. That was it. Why were you late?"

"I got stuck in the hallway. It really wasn't my fault," Eren said frowning. The three of them walked down the street and talked about how the rest of their day had gone. They soon made it to Armin's house and said goodbye to him. Like always Armin made his way up the stairs and into his apartment. He sighed as he entered and began to but all his belongings away. He lied down onto his bed and stared at the ceiling.

His mind was still dwelling on the problem he had earlier. He really wondered what Jean had done to make everyone think he was a bad person. The stories always changed but they always were the same deal. Don't hang around with Jean. Which brought Armin to another thought. With all those stories going around, what kept Marco around Jean?

Armin decided not to think to hard about. Instead he pulled out his homework and began to finish it up for tomorrow's classes.

~Friday~

Armin woke up to the sound of his alarm buzzing. He turned it off and quickly got dressed. He put on a blue sweater and a pair of light jeans. He then slipped on his shoes and then went into his bathroom. He grabbed and comb and began to fix his bed hair. When he finished, he walked into his kitchen and served himself a bowl of cereal. He ate in quietness except for the usual clatter of his spoon hitting against the bowl.

He finished up and put the bowl into the sink. He felt like he was having a morning rush. He decided that he should slow down. He sauntered on his way back to the bathroom again to brush his teeth. He located his toothbrush and the toothpaste and began to brush. When he finished he went back into his room and grabbed his bag and a jacket, for just in case.

Armin walked out of his apartment, locking the door behind him. He went down the stairs and opened the main building doors. He was greeted by an early morning wind which made him shiver a bit. The days seemed to get cooler now that school was passing by. Even if they were in early October, it always seemed to get colder earlier then usual.

But Armin had something to look foward to in these days. Yesterday, while tutoring, Jean had told Armin that this weekend they could train. Armin had told him that'd be fine and gave him his cell phone number. Jean was a little surprised Armin had a cellphone, since he never saw him using it. And Jean was right. Armin hardly ever used it.

As Armin arrived, the first bell was already ringing. He thought he wasn't to late, so he slowly made his way to class. When he entered he found Mikasa already sitting in their usual spots. Armin wasn't sure but as he sat down he felt a little hurt. Not physically but he had this feeling that something wasn't right. He just shrugged it off and listened to the lesson.

Around sixth period Armin had no longer felt the feeling he had that morning. Instead it was replaced with anxiousness. He had P.E. now and he received news that Mr. Dirk wasn't teaching P.E. for the moment. Armin was scared to find out who was teaching now.

The teacher called them out and told them to line up like always. Instead of were Mr. Dirk, there was a huge tall man up front. He had dark blue shorts on and a muscle shirt. He stared at all of them and then began to talk.

"My name is Mr. Lewis. I will be your instructor for the next few weeks while Mr. Dirk is gone. Now I've been informed a few of you are weaklings. Well I'm here to beat the weakness out of you," Mr. Lewis had a loud booming voice that echoed throughout the gym.

Armin gulped. He felt him and this teacher weren't going to get along.

"Well? What are you doing just staring at me? Drop and give me fifty!"

All the boys dropped down and began. Armin did the same. He started out slow, but then speeded up. But around his forties he dropped again. Almost all the boys were finished while Armin was still going. He felt a sudden shadow cast over him.

"So you're one of the runts, huh?" Mr. Lewis scoffed and moved on down the line. Armin felt his face heat up. He finished the last of his few push ups and then pulled in to rest on his knees. He was breathing really hard and shaking a bit. He then turned to look down the line and spotted Jean.

Jean, who looked completely composed and determined at the same time, was glaring a bit at the teacher. Armin couldn't help but wonder what had gotten Jean all riled up. Armin's eyes then wandered all over Jean's composure. He noticed how his fist were tightly clenched and his mouth pulled into a frown.

Armin thought that maybe Jean didn't like this teacher as much as he did. He shrugged it off and went back to listening to Mr. Lewis. Sadly, a lot of listneing really wasn't involved. Instead, Armin was doing many exercises that seemed to really be taking a tow on him. His head pulsed as he felt blood rush up to his brain and his forehead was covered in sweat making his bangs stick. He sucked in breath for a little while longer, and then let his eyes scan the room again.

But once again, his eyes fell on Jean. Jean's forehead was also covered in sweat, but he looked a lot less tired then Armin did. He shook his head a bit, letting his brown hair wave around a bit. Armin watched the brunette stretch out his arm and yawn.

It made Armin a little jealous to see Jean like that. He had muscular arms and such a well worked body, that it would probably put any boy to shame. Armin gave out a little huff. His arms were all stringy and small. The only work out they got were from carrying groceries or writing essays out.

Mr. Lewis then blew his whistle, signaling that class was over. Armin decided he'd go over and say hi to Jean, but before he knew it, Jean was already gone. Armin looked around, confusingly. He couldn't have moved that fast! But then again, it was Jean. Armin sighed and then walked himself to the locker rooms, were he changed back into his normal clothes.

After he had changed, he exited through the back and head to the cafeteria. Like always, he already saw Mikasa and Eren sitting at their usual table. They were both talking about, who knows what, but Armin was glad they weren't bickering for once. He stepped forward to go join them until he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Hey Armin!" It was Marco. He had a bit of a worried expression on and was breathing hard. "Have you seen Jean? I've looked all over for him."

Armin then saw Marco was also really nervous. Armin shook his head to him and then pointed to the gym.

"I saw him in class right now, but he sort of vanished right after class ended."

Marco looked towards the gym and then nodded his head. "Thanks Armin. I'll see you later," And with that Marco took off towards the gym.

Armin was starting to get the feeling this wasn't about the gym teacher. Maybe Jean was mad about something else. But at that moment, Armin couldn't really say for sure. He shrugged and then went to go sit down with Mikasa and Eren.

It was a rather quiet lunch, except for the usual small chatter between Armin and Eren. Mikasa was usually silent unless she was spoken to or the conversation interested her. Other than that, lunch passed by quickly. The bell for seventh period than rang, and the three said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways to their classes.

It usually didn't Armin long to make it to Geography class. He was almost always one of the first students to make it into the classroom first. He took his seat in the back next to Jean, just like always. Except, this time, Jean wasn't there. Armin thought that was okay since the tardy bell hadn't rung yet.

But then it did. Mr. Smith was already teaching the class, but Armin was to focused on were Jean could be. Had he ditched with Marco or something? 'No, Marco doesn't seem the type to ditch, even if Jean is his best friend,' Armin crossed that off his list.

Before he could make another wild assumption, he heard the classroom door open. It was Jean, who still looked mad like he did before. Mr. Smith then directed his attention to Jean.

"Well, Mr. Kirtchenstien, care to tell me why you're interrupting my class?"

Jean gave the teacher a cold look and then just snorted. He shook his head and then made his way to the back and sat next to Armin. The whole time, Mr. Smith had watched him.

"Jean," Mr. Smith said with a warning tone, "I'd like to have a word with you after class, please." Jean just shrugged and crossed his arms. Armin frowned at him. Just what on earth had gotten into Jean?

For the rest of the lesson, Jean just sat there and gave the teacher death stares. Armin himself was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. He looked over to Jean at one point, and received a cold look of his own. Armin quickly turned his head back to the board and made a confused face. Something was wrong.

Not long after, the bell rang. Everyone got up, including Jean, and began to leave. But before Jean could even step one foot out the door, Mr. Smith stopped him and made him come back. Armin decided that'd it be best if he went on ahead and waited in the library. Doing so, it gave him more time to ponder on why Jean was acting so strangely.

Marco had looked worried. Maybe something had happened at home? Armin gave a little sad look. He hoped nothing to bad had happened. He then heard a door open and then slam. Armin tilted his head a bit to look over the bookcases and saw Jean heading his way to where Armin sat.

He pulled out the chair with force and then slumped down, dropping his bag onto the floor. Armin gulped.

"H-hey," Armin squeaked out while looking down. He really didn't want to get another death glare from Jean. Armin ignored it, and asked Jean to bring out his Geography book so they could start.

Through out the lesson, Jean would insult Armin and sigh heavily. Armin was trying his best to ignore him, but it was becoming difficult. He had never heard Jean call him so many names before. Even when they met for the first time it wasn't this bad. Jean also had a look on that Armin had never seen before. It was a mixture of anger and frustration, which made him wonder exactly was wrong. Luckliy, they finished the first homework in one piece.

"Well, were done with this homework. So let's start the next one," Armin suggested.

Jean just muttered out something that Armin was unable to hear. To make things less awkward, Armin reached out and opened the math book and then gave a little glance at Jean.

"A-are you ready to start?" Jean turned and gave Armin a cold look. He shut the book with a slam and then stared Armin down.

"Does it look like I'm ready to start?" Jean said harshly at Armin. Armin sank into his chair a bit, but then he sat right back up.

"Jean, you don't have to act this way," Armin said calmly.

"Shut up, Blondie, what would you know?" Jean spat out. He leaned back into his chair and let out a frustrated growl. Armin cautiously reached out to the math book again and reopened it.

"Don't you understand? Why are you so stupid?! Wasn't that a big of enough hint I'm not going to do anything?" Jean once again slammed the book shut and stood from his seat.

"You're such a baby, Armin! Always letting people tell you what to do! This is why you're such a wimp!" Jean lashed out on to Armin.

Armin was taken back a bit. He felt a little scared but then something burned inside of Armin.

"Oh, I'm the baby? At least I'm not the one asking other people to hook me up with a girl!"

"Yeah? Well at least I don't look like a girl!"

"And at least I'm not a loser!" Jean furrowed his eyebrows and glared. Armin was also glaring back at him. They both were having somewhat of an intense stare down.

"Oh yeah!? You know what Armin? One day, someone is going to fuck you up so bad, and Mikasa and Eren won't be there to help. You know why? Cause they got tired out saving their stupid weakling of a friend! One day, they'll notice that you're just dead weight and drop you."

Armin clenched his teeth and then stood from his chair. Something inside him snapped.

"Shut up, you horse-faced ass!" Armin yelled. "You're such a dumbass! You sit here and do nothing! And now you yell at me for no reason! I'm trying to help you pass, but instead you act all ungrateful! You know what Jean!? I don't need to take this from you! You think you're so cool and the shit, but you're not!"

"You know what else? I'm done here, Jean. Find yourself a new tutor, cause I give up. Go annoy the hell out of someone else," Armin shouted to him. He picked up his bag and began to throw everything in there.

"Fine leave! It's not like I wanted to pass anyways! I don't need you as a tutor or anybody fucking else!" Jean yelled to Armin.

"Well good! I hope you have fun getting no where in life! At least I will get somewhere!"

"Oh wow. Like I give a shit. You're such a fuckin' push over Armin!"

"I don't really care anymore, Jean. All I know is I wasted my time on you for nothing. I hope you have fun while flunking out," And with that Armin left the library. He didn't wait for Eren or Mikasa. No. He just went on home. He opened the gate furiously, which made the most horrible screeching noise Armin had ever heard. If he hadn't been so mad he would have probably covered his ears.

But he didn't. Instead he stomped up the stairs to his room, where he quickly opened the door and then slammed it shut. He threw his bag on the floor and kicked off his shoes, which flew off into different corners of the room. He gave out a huge huff as he walked into his bedroom and threw himself against his bed, face down. He punched the pillow softly.

How could he have ever thought Jean was different? He felt so stupid. He actually thought him and Jean could become good friends. Armin let out a frustrated groan. He didn't understand what had went wrong. Was it because Jean actually thought Armin was a huge wimp? Did he hate Armin?

Armin bit his pillow and closed his eyes. 'I shouldn't care. He's just some dumb guy. I really thought there was more to him, though, then just some hot-headed rebel,' Armin thought to himself. He gave out another huge sigh. This also meant he was going to have to work out by himself. Not that he didn't mind because it also meant he didn't have to help Jean win Mikasa's heart.

'Good. I would never let a jerk like him date her,' Armin hugged his pillow. For some reason he felt a little bad, but he still felt anger. Now he began to wonder what was wrong with him? He lied back into his bed to think, but before he knew it, he had drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

~**Author's note:** Hi okay I know, I know this chapter felt rushed... Augh I really had a lot more planned but I decided to cut it down a bit. As for the fight I'm so sorry there wasn't fluff. But I promise the next chapter there is fluff! I'll try to have it out as soon as possible. Also we'll find out what exactly is bothering our little Jean. Other then that, thanks for reading!~


	4. Chapter 4

~Author's note~ This shouldn't be funny but it is to me, but this chapter took way longer then I thought it would. I started writing on Monday and I got all the way to the part where Jean and Armin meet up at the docks. Then school work piled up and I never touched this document again till Friday.  
Chapter 4: Promise?  
Armin woke to sunlight streaming in through his window and hitting his face. He rubbed his eyes, which felt heavy, and looked at his alarm clock. The time read 7:00am, in green glowing letters. The little blond gave out a small yawn and climbed out of bed slowly. He wasn't really tired since he had taken that nap after he had gotten home. He grabbed his phone from his desk and saw he had a few missed texts from Eren.  
They where all asking were Armin had headed to and why he didn't wait for them. Of course, Eren got so worried that he went all the way to Armin's apartment to find out what had happened. When Eren arrived though, Armin was still taking his afternoon nap, so it took him a minute or so before he answered the door.  
Eren began to question Armin on why he had left in such a hurry, but Armin only responded that he and Jean finished class early. He didn't really want to explain to Eren what had happen because he was afraid it would only make Eren mad and want to go beat up Jean. That and Armin wasn't in the mood of discussing it.  
In the end, Eren ended up staying over for a while until Mikasa called him and told him baseball practice was over. Eren said goodbye to his friend and told him to call him if he wanted to do anything over the weekend. Armin wasn't really paying attention but he still had said he would.  
Truth be told, the blue-eyed blond had some shopping to do this weekend. He was running out of food and needed to stock up. 'What better day to do it then today?' Armin thought to himself. He could go down to the local stores near the apartments, such as the corner store. But what good would that be? All he could probably buy a few rolls of bread, some sweets, and a box of cereal.  
Armin shook his head. He needed food, and decided what other place to get it then at the market. Good thing he had gotten up early or else he probably would have shopped at the corner store.  
'I should start getting ready, then,' the boy walked to his closet and began to pick out his clothes. Armin wasn't very choosy, but he wasn't exactly a slob at dressing either. He decided he'd wear a pair of light blue jeans and a white button up with the sleeves rolled. After he had finish changing, he slipped on a pair of socks and the proceeded to go into his bathroom and brush is hair like he usually does.  
He grabbed his comb and began to untangle his locks of hair. Afterwards he went into his kitchen to look for a bag to take with him to carry his items. He pulled out a blue polka-dotted one that had hidden away behind his pots and pans, and dusted it off. He put it on the counter next to his wallet and house keys, and then began to eat his breakfast.  
He finished quickly since he wanted to make it to the market early so he could also come back early. The thing is, Armin was going to some silly old grocery store nearby. No, the small boy was planning on taking a thirty to forty minute subway trip to the outdoor market near the ocean. Not that he ever went to the ocean, though. He mostly would grab all his groceries and which took about another hour or so and then he would head on straight back home.  
During the summer, Armin hardly did any shopping since Eren's parents were always inviting him over to have dinner with them. It was nice while it lasted, but once school started again, Armin was once again on his own. He didn't really mind since he always loved going out to that market. Anytime he went there, he always came back with a new story to tell. It was like his own little adventure, even if it lasted a few hours.  
He smiled happily and went back into his room to put on his shoes. He decided to also send a message to Eren that he was going out, just incase if Eren would show up at his house and he wasn't there. He hit send on this phone and then began to make his way out of his apartment, grabbing his back and wallet. He also decided to grab a book to read on the way over there.  
He locked the door, which made a little clicking sound and then made his way down the stairs. The blonds heart was thumping with excitement as he made his way down the stairs. He opened the front gate and then began to walk down the street to the subway station. It wasn't very far from where Armin lived, just about a block or two away. Some kids from Armin's school actually take the subway everyday to get to school since the buses weren't able to go to where those kids live.  
Armin at first was a little scared, when he started taking the subway alone. But after time, he had lost that fear and was able to board without a problem. He climbed down the stairs and into the musty smelling atmosphere of the underground tunnels which were covered in graffiti as far as the eye could see. The small blond purchased his ticket and waited by a pillar for the subway to arrive. Surprisingly, there weren't a lot of people like other days. It wasn't long before the sub pulled up into the station and dropped off its passengers.  
Armin quickly made his way in to the sub, and found a seat near a window. He sat down and prepared himself for a silent ride. Good thing he had brought the book or else he would be bored out of his mind. But he couldn't focus on the book so much. His thoughts were still focused on yesterday's event. He didn't understand why Jean had acted that way and been so mad.  
Armin also couldn't believe the way he had shouted back at Jean. It wasn't very normal for him to shout back at people unless they got him very mad. Armin didn't want to think about it anymore though. He was just relieved that he had stood up for once and didn't need help to do it. The subway rocked Armin back and forth in his chair, with the sudden noise of clashing outside. This was the only part Armin hated.  
There was no scenery to look at while in the sub. The only thing to see were the brick walls and the empty seats. Armin would take the tram that goes above, but that cost extra money that he did not have. The only reason he would take to top one is to see the ocean and mountain side view. Also the ride was faster than the subway was. But it really was worth losing the money he had to use on food. So he was content with just taking the sub.  
The sub soon stopped at the station, and Armin got off. He put his book back into his bag and went up the stairs. The salt smell in the air soon hit his nose, making him inhale deeply and give out a relaxed sigh. His eyes fluttered a bit and then reopened them as he noticed he was just standing about. He gave a wide grin and made his way to the market. The market was vast with different types of items to buy. Since it was close to the sea, its main product was of course fish.  
But the veggies they sold there were just absolutely exquisite. The best there were. Armin would usually buy fish and freeze it and when he thought the time was right, he would take it out and make soup with the fish along with some clams and shrimp. Eren and Mikasa were usually very happy when he cooked for them, so it made him feel proud when he did cook for them. Mainly today he was looking for fruits and anything else he would probably be able to get his hands on.  
He also wanted to get Mikasa a necklace as a gift for congratulating her on joining the team. He's not sure she'd wear it but he would really like to get her something. The lithe boy wandered through the huge bizarre, slowing down at stalls and looking carefully at all the food. He picked up a package of noodles so he could make soup later along with a few sauces he could use on it.  
The little blond then tilted his head to the right and began to think he should buy himself vegetables. He was so fixated on all the other products he had forgotten. He started by looking at the leeks and grabbing a handful of mint and lemons. 'A few potatoes wouldn't hurt,' Armin told himself. He wandered between the stalls until he saw a huge counter filled with them. Armin couldn't help but tell himself the looked perfect.  
He went up to the stall and began to check the potatoes until he thought he had found the perfect one. Smiling he reached out and grabbed it. But at the same time another hand had done the same and was now resting on top of Armin's hand. Armin looked at the somewhat strong hand a little confused and then looked up and made a wide-eyed face o the owner of the hand.  
"J-Jean!?" Armin stuttered out, his cheeks turning into a tint of pink. Jean looked at Armin with a stunned face also.  
"Huh!? Armin!?" Jean gasped and quickly let go of Armin's hand as his face also turned a small shade of pink. Armin stood staring at the stall. He wasn't sure what to do. But in the end he decided to walk away from Jean.  
"H-hey! Where are you going?" Jean called out after Armin. Armin turned with a stern look.  
"I'm going to go look for some potatoes," the blond said while slightly glaring at Jean.  
"But these are perfectly fine," protested Jean. Armin gave Jean another sharp look and frowned at him.  
"Not anymore, they aren't. You touched it, now they're all contaminated," Armin said. Jean looked a little peeved at what Armin had just said and made a tch sound as he gave out a choleric look.  
"Hey, come on whats your problem? It's just a stupid potato, it's not like I poisoned it!"  
Armin now had a scowling look about his face and scoffed at Jean.  
"Are you really that mad? It's just a potato. I mean come on Armin, lighten up," Jean said with a lied back tone and a smile on his face.  
"You really think I'm mad about the stupid potato?" Armin snapped at the burnet. Jean stared at Armin and his smile turned into a frown.  
"So... You're not mad about the potato?" Armin finally thought he had lost it when he heard Jean say that. Jean just smiled again and gave a little chuckle.  
"No, I'm not mad about the potato!" Armin argued on. Jean just continued to stare at Armin. The petite boy gave out a frustrated groan at the face Jean was making. It looked like Jean was either confused or was literally not giving a shit. Armin was leaning towards him not giving a shit.  
"Okay, what's wrong then?" Jean asked, the grin was now gone and replaced with a more serious face.  
" Whats wrong? Whats wrong?!" Armin hollered at Jean. "What's wrong is you! You yelled and insulted me yesterday and didn't even care! Now you're acting like nothing happened at all! That everything is perfectly normal!"  
Jean scratched the back of his neck and gave out a little sigh. His face softened from its previous state and looked at Armin straight into his big blue eyes that were glaring at him.  
"Look, I'm sorry for what happened yesterday... I really am... I just - I can't always control my temper. I'm sorry, I should have never yelled at you like that," Jean confessed. The whole time he was still staring at Armin in the eye. "You didn't deserve it and I know, I'm a major asshole. But, I really didn't mean for you to get mad and walk out like that."  
Armin's expression also softened like Jean's had. His grip tightened around the strap of his bag as his twisted his hands around it.  
"You're such a dummy, Jean," Armin said with a heavy sigh. Jean smiled a bit again. Armin wasn't using curse words, so that must be a good sign.  
"But that still gave no right to yell at me!" Armin growled again at him. Jean backed a bit and then began to protest.  
"Hey I said I'm sorry, what more could you want!?" Jean shouted back at him. Armin place his finger upon his chin and began to wonder.  
"Hm... What do I want?" Armin said out loud.  
"You've got to be kidding me," Jean groaned out. Armin shook his head making his little blond locks flow in every direction. Jean narrowed his eyes at him.  
"How about you buy me lunch and maybe I consider your apology?" The smaller boy suggested with a small smile and a nod.  
"C-consider?!" Jean repeated. "Hey, come on now Armin, that's not fair..."  
"Tell me about it at lunch. I can't discuss matters with you on an empty stomach," Armin said the last part in a singy voice. Jean just grumbled and followed after the short blond boy. Armin was practically skipping from happiness. But he didn't know why. He just knew he was happy.  
"Hey, shorty, were exactly are you heading?" Jean asked stuffing his hands in the pockets of the jacket he was wearing.  
"There's a McDonald's over there, so I thought we'd eat there," Armin said pointing up the stairs leading to the top of the hill. Jean choked on air and then began to laugh at Armin who was pouting now.  
"What? What's so funny?" Armin demanding asked Jean who was still laughing.  
"You are Armin. For a smart kid I never thought you'd be so bad at choosing places to eat at," Jean chuckled out. "Come on, you don't wanna go there." Jean told the smaller male.  
"Oh? Then where should we go?"  
"Over there at the docks. Come on they have some really great food!" Jean grabbed Armin by the wrist and tugged him forward in to the other direction. Armin followed obediently and tried to keep up with the same speed as Jean. They both zig zagged through out all the stalls, climbed down hills, and back up them again.  
They finally arrived at the dock and Armin couldn't help but stare, mouth a gap. He hadn't been this close to the ocean in years. In made him somewhat melancholy.  
"Hey. Are you going to stand there all day?" Jean snapped Armin out of his thoughts. Armin turned to see the taller male standing in front of a restaurant called, 'Crab Michael's.' The logo sported a realistic looking crab with a banner going around it saying when the place was established.  
"Here we go. Now this is food the eat when your over here. Not that McDonald's crap," he snickered as him and Armin entered the restaurant. Armin could smell fried fish coming from every direction and with a hint of ale in the air. It made him shiver a bit.  
"See anything you want? I am buying," Jean said smiling at Armin. The blond nodded his head with a cheerful smile and began to look at the menu. Jean couldn't help but notice how child-like Armin really was. Sure the kid was mature for his age, but he had such a kiddy personality. It made Jean smile to see that there was still some innocence in this world.  
"What about you?" Armin suddenly cut into Jean's thoughts.  
"Huh?" Jean said dumbly.  
"What are you going to order?" Jean noticed that Armin had already ordered while he was busy making a fool out of himself.  
"A-ah right. I'll have the Cajun styled fried fish with a coke," Jean smiled at the cashier and payed up. They then went outside to find a table to sit at, and found a nice one with an umbrella. They both sat down and silence followed.  
Armin was busy though completing the sea. He watched as the waves rolled on to the sand and beneath the dock. The wind was hot and salty but every minute of it was beautiful. Jean though was staring at the petite boy. He watched as the blond would sigh as if in love and would soften his expression with kindness. Jean suddenly remembered the day Mr. Smith had told them they were going to study the sea. Armin wasn't excited about learning. He was excited about the sea.  
"So the sea huh?" Jean said out of no where. Even he didn't know why he had blurted it out.  
"Ah! Yeah! I've always loved the ocean," Armin beamed turning to face Jean. Armin had that pink glow in his cheeks and his blue eyes seemed to shine with happiness. Jean almost even thought it was cute. But he stopped himself before the thought even crossed his mind.  
"I'm guessing you come here a lot then," Jean commented while propping is elbow against the table and his hand against his face. Armin made a doleful face with a pained smile.  
"Not really. I come here every two or three months, but I never come out to the docks... Actually I haven't been to the beach since I was about four," Armin explained with a painful look in his eye. The burnet gave out a loud surprised sound.  
"W-what! Really?"  
"Ah... Yeah. This is the closest I've been in a while." Jean gave out a loud gasp. He couldn't believe what Armin had just said.  
"Why not? I mean don't you come during the summer? Or even during the winter and summer festival?" Jean kept on questioning the little blond.  
"No, I don't. I would but it's just tha-" Armin was cut off by a waitress who set their food on the table and told them to enjoy. He reached out for his basket which carried his food and set it in front of him. Jean did the same and quickly dove in and began to eat his meal. The blond gave a smile and then also began to pick his food. He picked up the first strip of fried fish and examined it for a while.  
"If you don't eat it, it might hop right back into the ocean, Armin," Jean said with a mouth filled with food. Armin couldn't help but see the similarity between Eren and Jean. The two dorks. He then grabbed the piece of food and bit into it.  
"Wow! This is really good!" Armin exclaimed, the child-like expression showing again. He then began to chomp away at his food and the whole time Jean was watching him.  
"Hm? What's wrong, Jean?" Armin suddenly asked, his innocent eyes looking into Jean's brown ones. It caught him off guard a bit, making him turn away quickly and look in any other direction but Armin.  
"A-ah... It's nothing. I sort of dazed off," lied Jean. But the smaller boy just smiled and continued to eat. Jean gave a small sigh and began to also eat until Armin opened his mouth to speak again.  
"It is kind of hard to concentrate when you're near such beauty," Armin beamed as he looked straight on at Jean with dreamy eyes. The burnet felt a color flood to his face. What did the blond mean?  
"I've forgotten really, how the ocean could be so breath-taking," Jean became a little less tense at that comment. 'So the kid didn't mean me? Wait, of course he didn't mean me! What are you thinking?' Jean gave a little groan at himself and the directed his attention to the smaller male.  
"So what is it with you and the sea anways?" Armin's blissful smile suddenly turned into a sad one. His eyes glanced down and he put his food back down into the tray.  
"I've just always loved the ocean. The smell, the feeling, and the vastness of it all. The knowledge hidden way below in those huge dangerous waves makes it even more exciting!" Armins face once again became beatific as he replied to Jean.  
"But if you love it so much then, why don't you come here so often?" Jean asked once again like before. Armin gave a little sigh and his eyes wandered back off and into the deep blue.  
"I... Well. It's weird really. You'd think I would come here more often," the lithe male began, "I would, but it's just that..."  
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Jean quickly said to make the blond a little less uncomfortable. Armin blinked and then shook his head.  
"No, really it's okay. I'll tell you," Armin gave a little sigh and closed his eyes. He then looked back up at Jean and gave a sullen smile. "When I was really little, my parents would always bring me to the beach. It didn't matter if it was cold or hot or raining. They'd always bring me. Most of my early memories are here."  
"I was around four when my parents passed away," Jean gave a little gasp which was barley audible. He gave Armin an apologetic look, but Armin just continued. "They were on a trip, a small little vacation and left me with my grandfather. Sadly, the plane they were on had a technical failure and crashed. At first I didn't understand quite completely, but in time I came to comprehend. I then began to live with my grandfather who would try and take me out to the beach to make me happier, but... I never would let him take me."  
"I would jump out of the car and run back into the house when he tried. Soon he just gave up and learned to accept I didn't want to go. He did always try to talk to me about it though. I guess you could say I was traumatized. I'm not like that anymore but," Armins eyes looked off the dock and then back to Jean. "But I guess I've never actually been fully over it."  
Silence issued soon after with a few interruptions of crunches or the movement of napkins. Jean thought the kid still lived with his parents. But then again he doesn't really now anything else about Armin, other than he's super smart and very kind. It made the burnet feel a little weird since the blond was the one tutoring him yet he knew nothing about him.  
Jean looked across from him and to Armin, who was still trying to finish the bit of fries he had left. "So, you're grandfather must really take good care of you, huh?" Jean bit into one of his fries after he said that.  
The blond looked up at Jean and nodded his head. "He did. He always made sure I had everything and I was well. But, he passed away at least two years ago." Jean swallowed a little hard. He might have made things just a bit worse without even meaning to. He gave an awkward sigh and apologized to Armin.  
"No, it's okay really. You didn't know and well, it's not right to lie either, huh?" Armin gave a doleful smile and continued to eat his fries.  
"Yeah, but I'm sorry either way. I didn't mean to make you sad or anything," Jean said honestly. Armin opened his mouth to say something until he felt a drip of water hit his arm.  
"Huh?" Armin felt more drops of water fall on his head. He turned and saw the sky had turned grey and it was beginning to rain.  
"Ah it's just sprinkling. It's not like its heavy raining," as soon as Jean finished his sentence, they both heard a clap of thunder and jumped. "Um, never mind then."  
Rain poured down even harder over Armin and Jean. They both stood up from their seat and re-entered into the restaurant, shielding themselves from the rain. When they entered, Jean took the tray from Armin's hands and put it on the counter for the waitress to take it. They sat near a window and the silence only continued.  
"It started raining out of nowhere," Armin sighed. "The weather is so weird." Jean looked at blond who had his eyes focused outside. It was pouring pretty hard. The burnet only hoped that it would let up soon, but it looked like it wouldn't. He scratched the back of his head and thought that for the mean time, they might as well just stay put until there was any sign of less rain.  
Jean also hoped the blond wouldn't ask for anymore food. A young woman came over to their table, who was wearing an apron and gave a small head bow. Jean only looked at her in confusion.  
"Ah, I'm sorry, but you two have to leave..." The young woman gave pat down her apron and gave them a sorry look. Jean only responded in the way he knew.  
"What do you mean we have to leave?" Armin snapped his head to look at the two. The young woman was now waving her hands in front of her face and saying sorry.  
"It's just that, well..." The woman paused and put a finger up to her lip. " You see where on the dock and when a storm begins to form it gets very dangerous for us. The waves sort of just come up to dock length at times and it's really hard for us to leave, when there's water all over the place."  
Jean cursed a little knowing that the woman was right. He looked at Armin, who was just staring back blankly. The taller male sighed and nodded his head. "Okay, we'll leave in a few minutes," he said irritatedly. The woman apologized once more and then left.  
"You heard what she said, right?" Armin nodded his head making Jean scowl. "Augh, we have to run out into the rain again."  
"I really don't mind. Except for the fact of developing a cold, maybe," Armin stated. Jean gave out a small chuckle.  
"Well, when you're ready to leave just tell me, okay?" Jean muttered out. He was still a little mad that they were being kicked out. Armin was also a little mad at that idea. He really didn't want to run out into the rain and get soaked. He decided he'd just have to deal with it.  
"Alright. I guess I'm ready now," the blond said. He picked up his bag, that was carrying the groceries and hanged it onto his shoulder. Jean stood up also and they both walked outside. The rain quickly hit them both blast on. Armin lifted up his arm to shield his face from the coldness.  
"Geez, I hate the weather sometimes," Jean yelled over the wind. They turned and made their way off the dock and back to the stalls. Armin tried his best to keep up with Jean, but he was falling behind. The bag at his arm was dragging him down a bit and he was now bathed in water.  
Jean turned and saw the smaller male struggling with his bag. He was doused in water from head to toe and was panting as he tried to catch up to Jean. The burnet swore under his breath. His hair was covered in water but his jacket was perfectly fine, since the material it was made out of repelled the rain. His pants were also soaked and he could feel water seeping in through his socks making a squish noise with every step he took.  
Armin finally caught up to Jean, who quickly grabbed him and pushed him in between two stalls. The blond was shocked by the sudden action Jean had just made. He turned quickly to yell at Jean but saw that he was pulling off his shirt. Armin's eyes widen.  
"W-What are you doing!?" Armin exclaimed at Jean his face flaring up in embarrassment. The burnet pulled off his shirt and stared at Armin with an amused face.  
"Shut up and put this on," Jean chuckled handing Armin the green sweater. Armin grabbed it and just looked up at the taller male. "What?"  
"Nothing," the blond put his bag down and pulled the sweater over his head. It smelled faintly of the rain, cologne and somewhat of sweat. The thing fit Armin way to big. His arms were to small to fully come out and the sweater reached almost all the way down to his knees. He looked back at the taller male who reached out behind the blond and pulled the hoodie over his head.  
"There. Better?" Jean asked as he still held on the edge of the hood. Armin felt his face still blushing and only managed to nod his head. "Good," Jean replied with a grin on his face and let go. He picked up Armin's bag and swung it onto his arm and then began to make his way out from between the two stalls.  
Armin followed his checks still burning from the random act of kindness Jean had just displayed. It felt a little strange. They both jogged past stalls after stalls, occasionally stopping under covered areas to rest. Armin began to notice that Jean was sopping wet. His shirt was clinging on to his chest and his pants were dripping with water. Part of his hair was now stuck to his forehead while the rest of it was just straight down.  
The blond wasn't sure why the taller male had given him his sweater. It confused him greatly, but he was sure Jean had his reasons. Now that Armin thought about it, he was heading in the opposite direction from where he was that morning. The subway entrance was the other way, yet Jean was taking them the wrong way. Before Armin could protest, Jean was already leaving the covered area and back into the rain.  
Armin chased after him, and when he caught up he grabbed at the back of his shirt and tugged. Jean turned and looked at the little blond who was staring up at him with his big blue eyes.  
"What's wrong?" Jean asked as he saw the worried expression the boy was holding.  
"Aren't you heading the wrong way?" Armin said tilting his head to the left.  
"Um, no. Look I'm heading the right way, and I really don't want to be in the rain anymore. Besides were almost there so let's hurry," with that being said, Jean grabbed Armin's hand and pulled him forward.  
Armin only was thankful Jean was ahead of him now because he had a huge blush on his face. The blond felt confused by his own response. Jean was trying to lead him, he probably didn't mean anything by holding Armin's hand. But it still made the blond feel a little nervous.  
They climbed up one last set of stairs and then arrived in what seemed a parking lot. Jean let go of the blonds hand and pulled out a pair of keys from his pocket and ran next to a black, beat down 1970's Mustang. There, he unlocked the door and climbed into the front seat. He unlocked the other door and opened it. Armin only stood there staring.  
"Hey, Amrin come on!" Jean shouted at him.  
"Coming!" Armin replied and then entered into the car. He shut the door which made a creaking sound and a huge slamming noise when he closed it. The car smelled like dirt in a way and almost exactly as Jean's sweater does. The blond pulled down the hoodie and ruffled his hair, trying to shake out the water from his locks.  
Jean was doing the same except he was using a t-shirt that he had left in his car to dry his hair. When he finished, he threw the shirt in the back and then turned on the car. He looked over to Armin who was fluffing his hair and pouting at the fact that it was still wet. Jean gave a small smile.  
'He's kind of adorable and... Whoa did I just think Armin was adorable? Hahaha nope. Never again,' Jean began to deny what he just though and put on his seatbelt. Armin did the same.  
"You can just drop me off at the subway station if you want," the blond suggested to Jean. The burnet laughed at Armin, who looked at him with a confused face.  
"What?"  
"Hell no, I'm taking you to the subway. I'm driving you home," Jean said still laughing. Armin widen his eyes and began to protest.  
"Wait, why? Why are you being so nice to me? Who are you and what have you done with Jean?" Armin lightly swung his arm and hit Jean in the face with his sleeve.  
"Seriously Armin? It's me Jean. Just cause I'm doing nice things doesn't mean I'm a different person."  
"Well, yeah but I mean, you're usually not like this! It's weird!"  
"Would you rather have me leave you out in the rain than?" Armin instantly shut up and sat back down in his seat. Jean smiled and turned to face the front. "That's what I thought."  
The burnet pulled out of the parking lot and began to drive down the road away from the docks and all the stalls. It was still raining pretty hard outside, making it difficult for Jean to see, so he turned on the windshield wipers.  
"Hey by the way where do you live?"  
"Just drive like you were going to school," Armin replied. "Sorry," the blond suddenly said making the taller male glance over to him.  
"Sorry for what?" Jean asked as he made a turn. He heard the blond huff and imagined him making a little pouty face like he had earlier.  
"Sorry for well... Always thinking you're a bad guy. That you're a fool and that you're mean and all that," Armin said silently.  
"Hey, it's okay. I've been told that all the time, and it really doesn't bother me anymore," Jean said sincerely.  
"Well yeah but, you're not always like that," Armin responded back.  
"You're just saying that cause I was nice to you today. But if I recall earlier today you were pretty pissed at me, huh?" Jean smirked and gave a small chuckle.  
"Hey only cause you yelled at me! I probably wouldn't have been mad if you hadn't," Armin shot right back. "Anyways, can I ask you a question?"  
"Yeah, what is it?" Jean asked stopping at a light. He could hear Armin wiggling around in his seat. The blond took a deep breath and sighed.  
"Yesterday, when you yelled at me... Did you yell at me cause you were mad at me or at someone else or...?" Armin went silent after that. He waited for Jean to answer which took a minute or two. The burnet gave a heavy sigh.  
"It wasn't you. I was kind of mad at myself," Jean explained.  
"Why?"  
"Because I did something stupid," Jean said his tone turning into a growl.  
"You don't mind if I ask what you did?" Armin pestered on.  
"Seems like you don't mind," the taller male ran a hand through his hair. The blond had shared something with him early. He felt it was only fair that he said something back now.  
"Fine. I'll tell you. So, yesterday morning we had early practice, as well I'm sure you know since Eren is your best friend. Well when I showed up the coach kind of yelled at me," Jean paused as he began to think of how he was going to say this. "Yeah I know you're probably going to ask, 'Why'd he yell at you,' huh? Well he yelled at me cause I never told him that I was failing all my classes. So he got so pissed the he told me I couldn't be on the team anymore until I had all of my grades back up again, and not to even bother showing up for practice anymore."  
"That's reason one. Then Marco also got mad at me for no telling the coach about my failing grades. He went on and began to tell me how irresponsible I am and this is why bad things always happen to me. Eventually, I kind of just, um, told him off and walked away."  
'So that's why Marco looked so nervous,' Armin recalled thinking back to when he was going to lunch.  
"Oh," Armin muttered out.  
"That and my boss also called me telling me that I'm an idiot and he should just fire me sooner or later so that they can actually get a 'hardworking and appreciative teen who gets his work done,'" Jean was now fuming and he had an annoyed face on.  
"O-oh... Sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad or anything," Armin apologized quickly.  
"Hey, nah it's okay. I mean it's what I deserve right?" The burnet said with a peeved tone in his voice. Armin felt a little bad now. He didn't know Jean had gone through all that just yesterday, and he was also probably one of the things on that list. Jean probably just didn't want to say anything to Armin though because he was trying to still be nice.  
"No, you don't. Nobody deserves to be told such things," Armin stated. He looked down and blew air out of his mouth.  
"I'm sorry I called you all those things," Armin quickly over to Jean who had a small tint of pink on his cheeks. "I shouldn't have just lashed out on you like that. I just can't control my temper sometimes and I just sort off... I don't know. Burst."  
"But you didn't deserve to be yelled at. Espically not by me. You were just trying to teach me, but I was being such a big dumbass," Jean was trying not to hide his blush by scratching his cheek. He hoped to god Armin wouldn't notice.  
It was a little to late for that because Armin had already noticed. "It's okay, Jean. I should say sorry to since I yelled back."  
"No, don't you dare apologize. What you did was pretty badass. I mean not many people have the guts to do that and walk out. That was pretty fucking cool," Jean said his tone changing to amazement. "I mean I would have never expected you to ever do that. I know at the moment I seemed mad but I was pretty surprised when you yelled back."  
Armin felt his cheeks heat up again. He turned to look out the window. "I guess I've learned a few things from hanging out with Eren and Mikasa," the blond replied.  
"I guess you do, huh?" Jean smiled and gave out a little laugh.  
"Hey, but don't worry. I'm sure in two months time, you'll be back on the team again, and passing all of your classes. I mean you do have me as a tutor," Armin said turning to smile at Jean.  
"W-wait... You mean, you're going to tutor me again?" The burnet had an astonished look on his face. Armin nodded his head.  
"Well yeah. I mean you don't want to fail, right? And you have to be on the team to if you want the school's football team to make it to the finals right?" Armin beamed out a smile.  
"I guess you're right. So, then you're my tutor again?"  
"Yup. I'm your tutor again," the blond gave out a huge smile and leaned back into his seat. He closed his eyes and began to pay attention to the noise of the rain hitting the windows. His little dazed state was then interrupted by Jean.  
"Hey, Armin?" The blond sat up and looked at the bigger male, whose eyes were focused on the path he was driving.  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you want to start practice tomorrow?" Armin looked at Jean shocked.  
"R-really?!" The smaller boy bursted out. Jean smirked at how happy the boy looked now.  
"Yeah, why not? I mean you're helping me again, it's only fair if I help you back right? That and it seems I won't have anything to do anymore on that days I was supposed to go to practice," the burnet answered back.  
Armin's blue eyes shined with happiness. "Of course! Around what time?"  
"In the afternoon, if you don't mind."  
"No way. Of course I don't mind," Armin went silent. He then turned to look out the window. "Does this also mean you still want me to get you to hook up with Mikasa again?"  
Jean stayed silent for a bit a replied, "Only if you want to. I want make you, but I would definitely appreciate it if you did."  
"I'll try. How about that?" The smaller male replied.  
"Ha. Alright then, good enough for me. I mean what woman could resist this face?" Jean said doing a little pose.  
"A girl who actually is sane," Armin responded laughing.  
"Hey!" Jean shouted at him. The blond only laughed harder. The burnet let out a small chuckle. He guessed Armin wasn't half as bad as he thought he would be. He always suspected he was one of those stuck up snotty kids who were always correcting people. But Armin seemed more calm and child like in a way. He was smart and a little shy, but he knew how to have a good laugh and be funny. Jean felt like he wouldn't really mind the blond's company.  
"It was nice to go out and be by the ocean again," Armin said sighing.  
"Yeah I know what you mean. School is such a pain, I wish we could just leave and stay at the beach all day," Jean said back.  
"That would be nice," Armin said dreamily. They went silent again.  
"Hey, Armin, wanna go to the beach one day?" Jean asked suddenly.  
"H-huh? Are you serious?!" Armin had a wide-eyed expression on and was now gaping a Jean.  
"Yeah. I mean not just you and me obviously. Maybe sometime next month, when we get a day off. We can all come and just have fun."  
"That would be awesome!" Armin then paused and gave Jean a serious look. "Do you promise?"  
"Huh?"  
"Do you promise you'll take me? I mean this is something very serious, Jean. You can't just go out and say something like that and not mean it. Do you promise?"  
Jean looked over to the blond who had the most stern look he had ever seen on the kid. Armin meant business. The burnet gave out a sigh.  
"Yeah. I promise I will take you. And I will make sure not to break it. Only if you also don't break yours," Armin smiled at what Jean had just said.  
"I promise I will! Then we can all come to the beach!" Armin said excitedly. The burnet chuckled and nodded his head. He was wondering why he had just said that though. It wasn't often that he offered people stuff like that so willingly. But how could he back down now that the blond was all excited and happy? No way he could do such a thing.  
"Oh, hey. Were almost to the school," Jean remembered he was driving. Time flew right by him while he was talking to Armin.  
"Yeah. Okay so just drive right past it and then make a turn down that street. From there, you'll see some apartments," Armin explained. Jean followed what the blond had said, and ended up in front of the white luminescent apartments.  
"Well, this is where I live. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Jean," Armin began to get out of the car until Jean pulled at his sleeve making him fall right back in to the seat. Armin turned and looked to see that the burnet was holding up his bag, filled with his groceries.  
"You almost forgot this," the taller male said handing him the bag.  
"Ah. My bad," the blond took the bag from Jean's hands and waved goodbye. "Thanks for the ride, by the way."  
"No problem. I'll call you tomorrow then. See you later Armin," and with that Armin closed the car's door and Jean sped away from where he had left the smaller male.  
Armin opened the gate, and avoided all the rain puddles as he made his way into the apartments. He climbed up the stairs and opened the door to his room. He set down his bag on the counter and kicked off his wet shoes and socks.  
He opened the door to his room and peeled off his pants, that clung to his legs. He was about to do the same with his shirt when he noticed that he was still wearing Jean's sweater. His face heated up and he quickly pulled the sweater off and threw it on his bed. He didn't mean to take it. He just forgot. But it still made him feel a bit flustered.  
Actually, this whole day he had felt a little flustered while around Jean. That wasn't really normal of Armin. Maybe he was getting ill. But this wasn't what he normally felt like when he got ill. He just decided to ignore it and pulled off his other shirt. He put on some dry clothes and then went into the kitchen to put away all the groceries.  
When he finished it was around one in the afternoon. He sighed an went back into this room to finish up his homework. On his bed he found the sweater again, sprawled out on his sheets. He walked over to it and lifted it up and smelled it. Like before it smelt the same, but he didn't think Jean would mind if he washed it for him. Armin then put it on the edge of the bed and began to finish his homework, the whole time thinking what a strange day it had been.  
~Author's note~ Special thanks to Ohihihi! She's such a dear that she has the patience to put up with my horrible grammar and spelling! So this chapter is the beginning of the blossoming romance hahahahaha -can hits head-. Whoa this chapter took way to long. This is why I hate hw... The next chapter may take some time to be put up also because of hw... I felt like this chapter was okay. Ohhh and by the way Jean and Armin aren't going to be the only couple in here. I don't know I probably failed to mention that but try and guess who else is going to be in here. That and maybe... something shocking will be discovered in the next chapter... Well, we'll just have to wait and see huh?


	5. Chapter 5

**~Author's note: **First off! Very special thanks to Ohihihi! Such a dear. And second good lord this chapter took forever. I was sick this whole week! I got up for school on Monday and practically just fell over. I was almost dragged to the hospital on Tuesday so it's been a rough week... Turns out I had a stomach virus... And I had to rewrite this thing because the first time, I just did not like the way it was coming out. They were going to train together but when I reread it, it all sounded way to forced so I deleted it. I like this way better because I still covered all the main bases I needed to and it sounds better then the first one. Also this took longer because I was supposed to finish it by Sunday night but my parents had other plans and dragged my out all day with them and we didn't get home till nine...Then I got sick... SO this chapter is probably horrible but hey I tried. Enjoy!(?)

Chapter Five: Rain.

It was Tuesday and the rain still hadn't let up since Saturday. That was something neither Jean nor Armin had planned so they were not able to go and train. This really bummed out Armin since he was really looking forward to it and even Jean had noticed how disappointed he had gotten. They tried to use the schools gym but it turned out the girls volleyball was in there. They had also tried to use the field but the football team was out there and the baseball field was definitely off limits. The only place left to go was the track field but even then the gate was locked and none of the teachers had a key to open.

Armin was starting to feel like he was never going to be able to start working out, but Jean had reassured him by telling him that he'd find a way to get into the track field or find a different place for them to practice. Knowing that, Armin suddenly felt better and believed that one way or another, Jean would find a way to get them into the track field.

It was still pouring pretty hard outside. Armin could tell just by listening to the pitter patter of the water hitting on the window and the clouds rumbling overhead. He gave out a yawn as he lifted himself from bed and began to get ready for school. It was the usual morning routine. Get dressed, brush your hair, eat breakfast and then out the door to a day of school.

This made the blond groan. He enjoyed school, which was no surprise, but like any other teen he always hated getting up in the morning. Armin jumped out of bed and walked over to his closet, where he pulled out a shirt, sweater, and a jacket. He walked back to his bed where he put down the clothes and began to remove the ones he was wearing and throw them over his pillow.

He pulled the shirt over his head and then the sweater, which was a light blue one, and then smoothed out the fabric with his hands. Sluggishly, he went back to his closet were he pulled out a pair of pants and put them on then returning once more to his bed to put on a pair of socks and shoes. After he had done so, he went into the bathroom and combed his hair, which was getting longer. The blond tugged a bit at the end of his locks and made a note that he should cut his hair sooner or later.

Looking one last time into the mirror and making sure that every last detail about his aspect was in place, Armin turned off the lights from the bathroom and went into his kitchen. He opened up the cabinet and pulled out a box of cereal and a bowl, which he placed on the counter so he could grab the milk. Doing so, he also grabbed a spoon from a nearby drawer and then began to serve himself some breakfast. He swashed around the milk and the cereal, making it all cluster in together so that the cereal wouldn't be to dry.

Armin then dipped his spoon into the bowl and brought it up to his mouth, where he chewed on it silently. He began to think about what would happen today. There was always something different going on and he was now getting used to it but there was always at least something that threw him off.

He then heard a clap of thunder come from outside, causing him to give a slight jump and milk to roll out of the bowl and onto the floor. The blond let out a sigh and placed the bowl onto the counter. He grabbed a paper towel and cleaned up the spilt milk and then through the towel into the trash can. He turned and put the bowl into the sink and then went back into his room to grab his jacket and backpack.

When Armin entered he noticed the lights flickered for a quick moment, but then went back to their normal state. He stared up at the ceiling as he heard a creak, but then went back to what he was doing. He put on his jacket and swung his back pack over his arm and began to head out the door. He locked it and went into the hallway and down the stairs and stopped before he could reach the front door.

He could see through the glass that it was pouring really hard and he didn't feel like stepping out into that. Sadly, Armin had to, so grinding his teeth and pulling his hoodie over his head, he went outside. Almost as soon as he hit one step outside, rain water hit him right back in the face, making him close his eyes. Armin grimaced for a moment and then gave out a sigh. He began to walk quickly down the street, trying to ignore the rain constantly pouring down upon him.

Armin was pretty grateful he lived near the school. A ten minute walk was something to actually be happy about in this weather. He felt bad for all those other kids who had to ride their bikes or walk even farther then he had. He just hoped that it wouldn't be raining as hard as it was now when it was time for him to go back home. Seeing the school just within reach, Armin sped up happily, knowing that he'd soon be out of the rain.

He pushed the building doors forcefully and let a sigh of happiness escape from his mouth. Pulling off his hoodie, he looked around to see if anyone he knew was already there. Sadly, there was no one around that Armin could say he knew very well. Most of the people there were either students making up for missing work or just happened to be early that day.

Sighing, the blond began to walk to his first period class until he bumped into someone.

"Ah sorry," Armin muttered before he looked up and then smiled happily.

"It's okay. Oh it's you, Armin!" The voice came from a familiar freckled faced boy who was none other then Marco.

"Hey, Marco," Armin greeted him. He was glad he had bumped into Marco and not some random stranger.

"Hm? It's just you today? Where are Eren and Mikasa?" Marco asked looking around.

"I'm not sure yet actually. I think they'll be here soon, but I went on ahead since it's raining outside," Armin replied to him. "Actually what are you doing here so early?"

"I have to make up for a few missing assignments," Marco said sheepishly. "I don't know if you noticed but I was gone a few weeks ago and I still have to make up for some of the work I missed. I'm almost done, but I may just have to stay after school today."

"I hope you get it all done. I know it can be kind of hard when that happens."

"Yeah it is. Ah, I'm sorry Armin but I have to go. I'll see you in math class okay?" Marco gave Armin a wide smile. The blond returned the smile with one of his own and then Marco ran off into the hallway. The blond sighed again and walked down the hallway in the opposite direction Marco had just gone. It was usually always quiet in the morning whenever he wasn't with Mikasa or Eren. Since him and Jean didn't do what was planned, Armin had spent the rest of the weekend with the two. On Monday they went to school together but they had told Armin to go to school by himself today since they might be late.

The blond arrived at his first period door were hey stood by it and gave out another sigh. He was starting to wish he hadn't listened to Mikasa or Eren and had waited for them. It was his fault for listening but he guessed it wouldn't hurt to be alone for a few more minutes. He knew those two wouldn't be to late and Mikasa would end up showing sooner or later.

Around five minutes later, just as how Armin had guessed Mikasa showed up along with Eren in tow.

"Ugh sometimes I really hate the rain," Eren complained while shaking his head making water fly everywhere. "Hey Armin, didn't get too wet out there did you?"

Armin shook his head and then smiled at the two. "A bit yes, but I managed to get here in one piece. What about you guys?"

"We're fine. Just wish it wasn't raining... If I get sick I swear..." Eren's voice trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't worry. If you get sick you have Mikasa and me to take care of you," Armin smiled happily as Mikasa nodded her head in agreement. Eren glared at them,

"I don't need you guys to baby me around," Eren shot back.

"Eh, did you hear that Mikasa? I heard Eren's voice kind of croak, didn't you?" Armin began to joke around.

"Now that you mention it, I heard it too. I think I'm going to have to buy cough medicine after school." the raven haired girl joked back.

"Hey! I'm perfectly fine you two!" Eren fought back.

"Look he's turning bright red! Isn't that a sign of a fever, Mikasa?" The blond asked with a small smile on his face.

"You're right, Armin. I'll have to tell mom to take him to the doctor today," Mikasa replied with a smile of her own.

"Are you guys even listening to me? I'm perfectly fine!" Eren shouted at them, "I don't have a fever geez. Armi-"

"Eren shut up. You're hell of loud," a stern voice said. It was Levi and he was carrying a few sheets of paper and a book. He had an annoyed look on his face but still managed to look cool and calm.

"Oh. Hey Levi," Eren stuttered out a bit. Armin noticed the Eren seemed to clam up a bit at first but then he went back to his normal Eren self.

"Armin, right?" Levi asked directing his attention to the blond.

"Yeah," Armin replied to the raven haired boy who pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him.

"The office wanted me to give this to you," Levi explained. He then turned and looked at Eren. "Oi, brat, we're not meeting up in the usual classroom today. Instead were going to be in Portable 45. Try not to forget okay?"

"I'll try to remember," Eren responded. Levi nodded his head then left without another word, leaving the trio in silence.

"So is that how he tutors you? Just tells you to shut up?" Armin began to joke again while giving out a small giggle. Eren's face turned a bit red as he began to protest.

"N-no! He actually does teach me like tutors should! And he is pretty cool! Unlike you Armin," Eren teased back.

"Hey!" Armin smiled and gave out a laugh at his friend knowing he meant no harm with what he just said. Mikasa smiled at the two of them, but turned her head to look down at her phone.

"What's the paper for anyways?" Eren asked snatching it away from Armin making him pout.

"Maybe if you had let me read it I'd know," Armin said trying to take the paper back, but Eren only moved farther away from the blond.

"Hmmm. It says you can't tutor in the library today," Eren said aloud as he handed the paper back to Armin.

"Huh? Why not?" Armin grabbed the paper and examined it for a moment. He gave out a little frustrated groan.

"What's wrong?" Mikasa asked looking over his shoulder to try and read the paper.

"They're making me change classes just like Levi and Eren because of club activities. I guess I'm in classroom 234," Armin explained.

"Hey that's my first period!" Eren exclaimed as he looked over the blonde's shoulder just like Mikasa. "Why do we have to have assigned classes for tutoring? It's not like they check up on us or anything."

"It's only for the first few weeks," Armin told Eren, "after that they let us choose were we want to tutor or study. They do that because they also want to make sure that we are actually tutoring."

"But they don't check," Eren repeated. "Or wait. Do they?"

Armin shook his head. "No, but as a tutor's job, when we fill out the report we have to put what days the student missed if he doesn't show up."

"Ah I see," the burnet replied. The first bell then rang.

"Eren, you should leave if you want to get to class on time,' Mikasa said as she pointed to her phone.

"Ah, don't ruin it Mikasa... But I guess you're right. I can't afford to get another detention from that teacher," the brunet said as he straightened up his jacket. "I'll see you guys later then."

And just like Levi, Eren was out of sight. Armin turned to look at the raven haired girl who was already looking back at the blond.

"He seems defensive of Levi don't you think?" Mikasa said out of nowhere. Armin wondered what she meant.

"I'm not sure. Do you think he is?"

Mikasa looked back down at her phone and gave out a small sigh. "You haven't been there for when he talks about him continuously."

Armin gave out a small giggle. "Maybe he just looks up to him, you know? Like in a big brother type of way?"

"Maybe," Mikasa said with another heavy sigh. Armin tugged her sleeve and gave her a warm smile.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure if it wasn't for you, Eren would be in a lot more trouble then he is in now. I'm also pretty sure he's grateful for you but isn't always sure on how to show it," Armin reassured her. Mikasa stared at the blond for a moment and then gave him a smile back. He truly was one of her best friends. The bell rang a few moments after and the two of them entered into the classroom, only to start the day like any other.

School ended pretty quickly but that didn't mean the rain hadn't stopped at all. This caused for P.E. to be cancelled which made Armin pretty happy so he spent that period with Reiner, Bertholdt, and Jean. The four of them cracked jokes and just were being normal teenage boys. Around then Armin had informed Jean of the class changes and he practically said the same thing Eren had to Levi.

The smaller male was actually making his way right now to the classroom, alone actually. Jean had left him for a moment because he had to go talk to Marco and said he'd be back soon so that him and Armin could get the lesson started. The blond didn't make a fuss about it but at the moment he was pouting and looking out the door. In order to get to the class he had to, he had to run across the front yard and into the next building. This meant he had to run outside... in the rain.

He stared out the door a little bit longer still making a pouting face until he felt a hand lightly tug at his hair. Turning he saw a smaller blond standing there with his hair in her hands.

"Oh, Christa?" Armin said as he looked at the petite girl who had her own hair tied up in a bun.

"Hi Armin! I see you don't want to go outside," Christa said with a cute little grin spread across her face.

"Not really. The rain is really annoying, especially when it makes my hair super wet," the male complained. Christa made a face of happiness and then tugged a bit at Armin's hair again.

"I might be able to help!" She reached in to her pocket and pulled out a small hair tie and stretched it out. "You don't mind do you?"

Armin shook his head. In various occasions he had tied up his hair or Mikasa had done it for him. Usually it was when he was studying or his hair was really bothering him. The female blonde turned Armin so that he was facing away from her and began to pull at his hair. She wrapped her hand a few times around the hair tie then let it go leaving Armin's bangs out but the rest tied.

"Done!" She exclaimed then turned Armin around to look at him and giggled. "Whoa, Armin! How come you never wear your hair like this? You look very handsome!"

Armin felt a small blush spread over his now exposed face. He turned away from her, but it only made her giggle even more.

"Relax Armin! You look fine! You could probably make anybody fall for you when you make a face like that!" Christa teased him on, but this time Armin laughed.

"_Sure_, I bet I could, huh?" He gave out a small chuckle as she continued to giggle. She then stopped and looked down at her phone.

"Yikes! I almost forgot I have to go meet up with Ymir!" Christa pulled her bag up her shoulder and then gave a smile at Armin. "We can talk about your good looks some other time if you want Armin!"

He gave out a small laugh and then waved at her as she opened the door and disappeared out into the rain. He gave out a groan since he knew he had to do the same but he really didn't want. Giving one last sigh he pulled up his hoodie and made a run for it. The building door was insight, which made Armin happy. He quickly opened the door and shook of the water from his jacket.

He was happy Christa had tied up his hair. It had made things way easier and less wet for him. He wondered why he hadn't done this sooner. Armin gave out a small huff and then pulled his hoodie back down, as he noticed that the classroom he was supposed to be in was the first door right next to him. Smiling, he pushed open the door and began to pull out his books and papers and set them on the front desk while waiting for Jean's arrival.

While Armin set up, Jean was out in the rain trying to remember what building Armin had told him they'd be in. He could pull out his phone and text him, but that would be a great risk of damaging his phone. Swearing a bit underneath his breath, he decided to enter the nearest building next to him. Opening the doors quickly, the brunet was quite happy to be out of the rain and in the warm building. He shook his hands trying to wave off some of the water on him and then gave out a sigh as he peeled of his hoodie.

Jean rubbed his eyes and then began to look into the classrooms to see if he could find Armin. The little blond seemed to be in high spirits today, which Jean made a note of when they were in P.E. It wasn't like Jean was watching him or anything, it was just really nice to see the petite boy smile every once in a while. It gave the burnet a little fuzzy feeling that even he couldn't understand.

He looked into the first classroom and saw that it was empty. Knowing Armin, he'd probably have everything set up by now and was probably just waiting for Jean to show up. The burnet swore to himself again and closed the classroom door. He walked across the hallway to peer into the other class and noticed someone was in there. He couldn't quite make out who it was since they were leaning over a desk face down, but, he noticed they were blond and their hair was pulled up with a hair-tie.

Jean couldn't help but stare for a minute or two. The blond figure seemed to have such a small body, but it was sort of cute in a way. The figure turned their head to look out the window making their hair wave in a way Jean couldn't help but find beautiful. The brunet could only stare and wonder who exactly this small blond was and why he had never seen them before. The blond turned over once more to face the door and Jean felt his heart drop.

It was Armin. Of course it was Armin. Jean mentally smacked himself as he felt a blush form on his cheeks. He had just called another guy cute, which was something he was never going to let himself live down. Giving out a small groan, he opened the classroom door and received a bright smile from Armin.

Instead of making Jean's heart drop like it had earlier it made him feel like it had just melted. The blond just looked so adorable with his hair tied up and the small tint of red on his cheeks from how cold it was in the classroom. Jean didn't even deny it anymore; Armin was pretty cute and the sight of it was making Jean's face flare up.

"Hi Jean," Armin said brightly. The burnet could only stand there and gawk at the blond. He wasn't sure what to say or what to do, so he quickly shuffled over to his desk and gave out a small 'hello'.

"Jean, you're really red. You're not getting a fever are you?" Armin asked as he moved over to Jean's desk. The taller male shook his head and began to pull out his books. He couldn't believe the way he was acting. Armin was a boy, there's no way Jean could feel that way for him! Instead of acting shy Jean should have been acting like his usual loud self and try getting on with the lesson.

"N-no, I'm okay. It's just that it's cold y'know?" Jean replied stuttering a bit and trying to make it less awkward between the two. Armin gave another smile and nodded, making his little blond bangs bounce.

"Right, we'll start with English today. Is that okay?" The blond gave another big smile as he reached for the English textbook and set in front of Jean. "Looks like you're doing fine in Science and Health by yourself so I thought we'd focus on the topic's you're struggling the most with. Is that okay?"

Jean only nodded at the blond as he brought out his notebook and a pencil. Setting it on the desk he noticed Armin was pouting.

"What's wrong?" Jean asked when he saw the blond making such a face. Pointing at the English book, Armin sighed and shook his head.

"We only have on English book and we'll be lucky if we can find another one in this math classroom," the smaller male said still pouting. Jean gave out a small chuckle and opened the textbook.

"I don't see what's wrong with sharing," the brunet immediately regretted what he had just said, and blushed a bit and tried to hide it by looking anywhere but at Armin. Except the lithe male was too busy looking about for an English book, that he didn't even notice Jean. Armin puffed out his cheek and finally turned to look at the taller male.

"I don't mind sharing, but I'm a bit ahead of you in English class, so I wouldn't want to bother you by making you flip back and forth on the pages," the blond explained.

Jean stuttered a bit. "You mean you tutor me _and_ do your homework at the same time?" Armin shrugged and then nodded his head.

"Well yes. How else would I get my homework all done?" Jean stared at him in disbelief. This kid wasn't leaving anything behind even when he was trying to teach Jean.

"How?" Was all Jean was able to manage out. The blond gave another smile as he got up and wandered about the room.

"It's not that hard really," Armin responded.

'Maybe for a genius like you, but most of us are dumbasses,' Jean thought as he watched the blond walk around the classroom. Armin stopped at a book case near the door and pointed to the top shelf.

"What luck! I found one!" The blond shouted at the brunet. Jean gave out a small smirk as he watched Armin try and reach the book on the top shelf. He stood on his tippy toes and made a small grasping motion towards the book then went back down. He tried hopping and grabbing it but couldn't get it that way either. Jean just sat there and laughed a bit making the blond turn and pout at him.

"Sorry," Jean said still laughing. "Here, I'll get it for you," the taller male said as he got up and walked towards Armin. Jean moved slowly as he watched the blond nod his head and stay in the exact same spot waiting for him to get him the book. Now the Jean was closer, he stretched out his arm a bit to grab the book, but was suddenly spun into shock.

He felt a tug at his left foot making him trip and fall over, taking Armin down with him. Jean closed his eyes as he heard a thud and Armin give out a yell as they fell, making him move up fast and bump his head on the bookcase. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was directly over the blond who was making a face of pain and had his eyes shut tightly.

"H-hey Armin! Are you okay?!" Jean shouted at Armin with a panicked voice. He was afraid that he had probably knocked out the smaller male or somewhere along the lines of that. Jean gave out a sigh of relief as Armin slowly opened one of his eyes and let out a soft groan. The blond turned a bit from his side to a position on his back as he grunted and lifted himself a bit so that he was now facing Jean.

"Shh, Jean. I'm fine, so there's no need to shout," the lithe male replied with a pained smile. The brunet returned the smile with a relieved one but then widen his eyes. He hadn't noticed that they were both in a very awkward position which was making him redden at the cheeks.

Jean had his left arm pushing against the book shelf while the other was on the floor pushing himself off of Armin, but he was directly between both of the blonde's legs. Armin had also noticed and was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. His face was close to Jean's also, they were practically inches away! Armin looked up at Jean and they both made direct eye contact making them both immediately blush.

Yet neither of them moved nor said anything. Jean couldn't help but stare into Armin's big blue eyes. They just felt so hypnotic to the brunet and the way his blush had poured it self out through the blonde's pale skin was so breathtaking that it was no wonder Jean couldn't look away. The taller male knew he should move or do something, anything at all but he couldn't move a muscle.

Armin swore inside his mind. He felt dizzy and his heart was pounding so madly that he was sure Jean could hear it. It felt like time had stood still and it was just the both of them, but neither of them knew what to do or say. Jean couldn't stand it anymore, he felt like he was going mad just leaning over Armin. The burnet swallowed hard and then parted his lips open to talk.

"Armin... Um...I," Jean wasn't sure what he was going to say but he knew he had the blonde's full attention on him now. The burnets vision felt a bit blurry and he couldn't understand what it was he was feeling. "Armin I think-"

Jean was cut off by the sound of the classroom door opening and another voice who turned out to be Eren's.

"Hey Armin, I can't remember what class Levi said to meet up in so I decided to come and see if you kn-" Eren stopped in the middle of his sentence and stared at the two who were still on the floor. They both stared back at Eren who now had what seemed a neutral face but also seemed to be enraged. What felt like hours to Jean were only seconds of silence till Eren finally said something.

"Hey, Jean..." Eren sounded pissed and was shaking a bit from how furious he was. He shot a glare directly at Jean and said," What the hell do you think you're doing on top of Armin!?"

Eren rushed over to the other brunet who was protesting now.

"W-wait, Eren it's not what it looks like I promise!" Eren threw himself at Jean and knocked him over. The two scrambled on the floor while Armin got up and tried to pull Eren off of Jean.

" 'Not what it looks like' my ass!" Eren pulled at Jean's face who was fighting back by trying to push him away. "You fucking pervert! Trying to take advantage of Armin like that! I should bash your face in right now!"

Jean struggled as he tried to push Eren off. The green-eyed boy seemed to be driven by blind rage at the moment and wouldn't listen to a word the brunet was saying.

"E-Eren! He's telling the truth! I promise you he is!" Armin yelled at Eren. The blond tugged way too hard on Eren's shirt causing him to fall backwards but was caught by someone.

"A-ah? Levi?" Armin looked up at the raven-haired boy who was holding him by the arm. Lifting him up he gave out a heavy sigh as he watched the two other boys tussle on the floor.

"What's going on?" Levi asked looking at Armin. The blond wasn't exactly sure how to explain this situation.

"Eren sort of walked in and saw Jean and I on the floor and I guess his mind sort of thought something else was going on..." Armin blushed lightly as he saw Levi raise an eyebrow. At least he tried to explain what happened.

"Oh? I didn't know you swung that way, Armin," Levi said with a small smirk on his face. Armin raised his hands and began to protest.

"N-no! It's not like that I promise! We just sort of fell over and that was it!" The blond was now blushing even more. Levi then went back into a neutral face when he saw how serious Armin was.

"I'm only joking with you," Levi said as he turned his attention back to the boys.

"I swear Jean! You're such a-"

"Shut up, you dipshi-"

"Um... Shouldn't we do something?" Armin asked as he saw that it seemed like the two boys were no longer fighting about what they had been earlier. Levi shrugged as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I guess we should... Although it would have been fun to see them go at it a little longer..." he gave out a sigh. "But I guess I'll go get the brat."

Levi walked up to the two males who were still pulling at each others faces and throwing weak punches at one another. Without a warning though, Levi practically lifted Eren off of Jean and onto the other side of Levi. Eren had the most confused look ever and so did Jean while Levi now had an angry demeanor.

"Eh...? Levi?" Eren said out loud in a confused tone. Levi then pulled at one of Eren's ears making the burnet give out a small yelp.

"You stupid brat!" Levi yelled as he continued to pull at Eren's ear. "I looked all over the school for you and I find you doing what? Fighting! Do you really hope to pass like that?"

"O-OW! Levi let go I'm not a baby! Besides, Jean was harming Armin!" Eren tried to push Levi's hand away from his ear but only failed miserably. Levi pulled Eren up to his feet and kept on pulling on Eren's ear.

"Really? I think they seem perfectly fine. Armin, was Jean trying to do anything to you?" Levi turned to look at the blond who was now shaking his head. "And you, Jean. Were you trying to get at Armin?"

Jean instantly shook his head. Levi turned to look at the whining brunet who was under his grasp. "You see? Next time, try not to jump to conclusions. Anyways, sorry for the interruption you two. We'll be leaving now."

Practically dragging Eren, Levi began to walk out the door but stopped next to Armin and said, "You're welcome." He then just walked out.

Everything was silent now and all you could hear was the pitter patter of the rain outside. Jean and Armin turned and looked at each other at the same time and then burst out laughing hysterically. Armin just couldn't believe that someone had been able to actually do that to Eren without being yelled at.

"Oh gosh, I can't believe that just happened!" Jean laughed and Armin joined in with him.

"I've never seen anyone be able to do that to Eren!" The blond felt his sides begin to hurt so he tried to stop laughing. Jean began to also calm down until both of them were left in dead silence again.

"So... um," Jean stopped as he was interrupted again.

"What were you going to say?" Armin asked.

"Huh?"

"Before Eren burst in you were going to say something. What was it?"

Jean thought back to when he was over Armin which brought a small blush to his face. He hesitated for a bit trying to remember the last words he had said to him. It only deepened the brunet's blush.

"I was going to say, I think we should get off the floor," Jean shrugged and sat back down in his original chair. He rubbed the back of his neck while the blond just stared at him. Armin then gave out a smile and nodded his head.

"Okay then! Well, I guess we should start the lesson now!" The smaller male tightened the hair tie and sat down across from Jean and then opened the text book.

"Can I ask you a question now?" Jean suddenly said.

"Hm? What is is?" Armin asked as he picked up his pencil.

"What's up with ponytail?" The taller of the two pointed at Armin's hair,

"Christa," Armin said plainly. Jean stared at the blond in confusion.

"What?"

"Christa. You know, Christa? She tied it for me and besides, keeps my hair out of the way too." Armin pulled one of his bangs and tucked it behind his ear while giving Jean another smile.

Jean could only stare and the petite boy. Man, this kid was weird, but for some reason Jean found himself smiling back. That's when Jean made a sudden realization. He felt his heart thump and hoped he was wrong but at the same time he wasn't sure what was running through his head. He swallowed hard as he stared at the smaller male taking in every lovely detail about him.

'_Fuck, I think I like him...'_

~**Author's note: **Well this chapter was fun. It took a while but I had fuuuun. Sorry if they sound OC I really tried. Next chapter will be a continuation of this one, so like... They're still studying and other stuff ensues. Or maybe they'll be done studying! And about the tutoring system, I'm just basing it off the one we had at my school. After three or four weeks, you could go tutor the student in there home or where ever as long as you were getting it done. Also the only part I don't like about this chapter (Along with others things I don't like) is Christa had such a small part! I'll make that up later, I promise. I'll try not to take to long on the next chapter so until then, bye!~


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Blankets and water.

"Okay so if we divide these two we'll be left with what number?"

"Thirty-two, right?"

"Yeah. Now you have to multiply by the reciprocal of this number and add the last two. After that you should be able to find out the answer of x."

For the last hour Armin had been helping Jean with his math homework. No matter what topic they were on in math, Jean always seemed to struggle with it the most. The good part was that they were almost done. What seemed to be the bad part was that the rain seemed to be pouring even harder now, which made Armin cringe at the thought of having to walk home in this weather.

He would also have to walk home alone, since Mikasa and Eren both had practice today. Eren had been complaining to Armin about it during lunch, saying that'd he'd be late and the coach would make him run laps as a warm up. Mikasa only apologized to Armin and said they'd try to make it up to him later, which the blond had told them was not necessary. Giving out a sigh, he lightly flicked the edge of his text book and looked over to Jean. The brunet had a very serious expression on his face as he tried to work out the last few problems of his math homework.

Armin looked down at his own homework, noticing that he had only two more math problems left, yet he couldn't focus on his work. His mind kept wandering back to the events that had happened earlier that day. It made him blush just at the thought of how they had landed on the floor.

Both legs were spread out onto Jean, which had left Armin in such a vulnerable position. Their faces were pulled in both so close to one another that he swore if either of them had moved an inch they would have probably kissed. He could only picture the way he had probably been blushing underneath the taller male, which brought heat back into his cheeks. No wonder Eren had freaked out. He shook his head slowly, trying to erase the thought out of his mind, but only for it to return moments later.

Then there was the thought of how Jean had acted throughout this whole scenario. Armin wasn't sure if his eyes had been playing a trick on him or not, but it seemed like the brunet was even flustered by what had happened. No, Armin was definitely sure Jean had began to blush when he was on top of him. He had such a look in his eyes, too, but it confused Armin. He wasn't sure what was going on with Jean's face at that moment.

It was a look of partly confusion, but there was something else. Armin just couldn't quite put his finger on it. The look in Jean's eyes had been haunting Armin for a while now. He tried over and over again to recall the memory of Jean's face over his, but he just couldn't place it.

"Hey? Armin? Arrrmiiin?" The blond snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to the taller boy, who was waving his now finished math homework in front of Armin's face. The lithe male had a dazed look as he snatched the paper from Jean's hand and began to check over his answers.

"Hmmm... Seems like you got everything right," Armin said as he nodded his head. He handed the brunet back his paper and then began to pack up his belongings. Jean did the same, but would throw small glances towards the smaller boy. It seemed like the recent events weren't only just haunting the blond. Jean was seriously questioning himself now.

Along the lines were such questions like '_Why didn't I move?! He must think I'm such a creep now,' 'Dammit what if Eren tells everyone,' _and the one that really seemed to bug him now was, _'Do I really like him? Oh god, what's wrong with me?'_

Jean pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a small groan. Why did it have to be Armin out of all people? Why couldn't it have been a girl or someone who didn't make him question his sexuality? Even now looking at the back of the blonde's head was something that made his heart want to jump out his throat. He just hoped he was getting sick and not falling for the other boy.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then?" Armin suddenly said to Jean. The brunet turned to look at him and gave him a small nod.

"Yeah, I'll see you then," Armin walked out the classroom door when Jean had finished the sentence, leaving him in silence. Suddenly he shouted out after the blond.

"Hey! Armin!" Jean ran out of the classroom and stopped when he saw the other boy turned and facing him.

"Hm? What is it?" The blond had a questioning look set upon his face as he stared back. For some reason thought, he could feel his heart beat even faster when he heard Jean call out to him.

'I was just wondering if you were going to walk home," Jean said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I am, actually. Why?" the smaller boy responded, heart still thumping.

"Well, it's raining super hard outside, and I was just wondering if you wouldn't rather want a ride to your house instead of getting soaking wet," it was a simple answer, really, but Jean could feel heat in his cheeks as he said that.

Armin nodded his head. "I would, actually. I mean, that is if you don't mind."

Jean gave out a small laugh. "Trust me; if I did mind, I wouldn't even be asking you if you wanted a ride. Let's go to the parking lot then." The brunet passed Armin and walked outside and into the rain. Unlike Jean though, the smaller boy wasn't very enthusiastic about walking out into the cold weather.

Pulling up his hoodie and giving one last groan, he walked outside and received the cold embrace of the wind and rain mixed together in to one. Armin turned to look for Jean, who was already making his way out to the cars leaving the other boy behind. The blond followed him until they reached Jean's car, which was completely coated in water. Jean cursed for a minute as he unlocked the door to his car and then jumped in to unlock Armin's door.

Once Armin was settled in the passenger's seat, Jean inserted the key and turned it, only for the car to make a horrible screeching noise. The brunet quickly pulled out the key and smacked the front wheel as he cursed.

"Dammit, please don't do this to me now!" He jammed the key back in and turned it even more forcefully now, but the car would not start. Giving out a huge frustrated groan, Jean fell back into his seat and covered his eyes.

"Fuck," he muttered out."Sorry..." Armin, who had been quiet all this time, lightly tugged on Jean's jacket. Moving his hand from his eyes, Jean peered down to the other boy he was looking back at him.

"It's alright. I know it wasn't your fault. But we can't just stay here," he said as he looked around. This had only been the second time he had been in Jean's car, but it was pretty cramp, due to all of Jean's stuff lying about.

"Well, where do you suggest we go?" Armin pointed out the window as he looked at Jean.

"I told you before; I live near the school, about a block away. I mean, if you don't mind running out in the rain that is," the blond said. Jean wasn't particularly fond of getting completely soaked, yet at the same time a little rain water wouldn't hurt. He shrugged and then turned in his seat to dig in them back of the car.

"What are you doing?" Armin asked as he tried to look over his seat. Jean rummaged through his belonging's, looking everywhere until he finally found the item he was looking for which he pulled out and gave out a triumphant 'Ha!'

"I was looking for my umbrella. Less of a chance of getting completely wet from head to toe, right?" Jean pushed the door open once more and quickly opened the umbrella. A proud smile shone across his face as he raced over to Armin's side to shield him from the water.

"Hold this for a minute, actually," the taller boy thrust his hand towards Armin, handing him the umbrella while Jean locked his car. He took the object again from the blonde's small fragile hand and gave him a small nod. "Lead the way."

Armin began to walk in the direction of the route he usually took while Jean was right beside him trying to cover both of them. Suddenly, the taller boy bumped into Armin, making him tumble sideways.

"Sorry. It's just kind of hard trying to cover both of us," Jean admitted pulling the umbrella closer towards the smaller boy. Armin lifted up his hand and closed it around the base of the umbrellas pole, positioning it right on top of Jean's. The brunet felt his hear begin to race again as he felt the surprisingly warm hands of the other boy brush over his.

Armin put the umbrella into place and then let go, which made Jean's heart rate return to normal. "Try to keep it right there, so that we both have a lesser chance of getting rained on."

Jean nodded his head and continued to walk side by side with Armin. Neither of them was talking at the moment since so much seemed to be on their minds. Although, Jean was the first to break the silence.

"So, how much longer till we reach your place?"

"Not much more. Just down this street and then around the corner," as Armin said that the wind seemed to kick up even more, pulling Jean backwards with the umbrella. Suddenly it turned inside out, making Jean call out a curse.

"Just roll it back up, or else it'll break!" Armin yelled against the wind to Jean. The brunet did as the smaller male had told him and tried to put away the umbrella. He struggled a bit at first but then was finally able to pull it in and snap it shut.

Both of them ran against the rain as it hit there face like cold icy daggers. Armin was glad that he could finally see the gate to his apartment, so he ran forward and pulled it open. Jean ran up next to him and ran in after him, finally escaping from the cold from outside. The blond shivered as he felt the air hit him from the conditioner. His teeth chattered away as he began to climb up the stairs to get to his apartment.

Jean was now annoyed. Covered completely in water, he followed Armin up the stairs, while he rubbed his hands together trying to recover his warmth again. He watched as Armin staggered up the stairs, swaying back and forth as he walked up the stairs. He made a small turn and then dug into his pocket, where he pulled out a key and unlocked the door leading into his little home.

"Woah, nice place you got here," Jean muttered out as he entered into Armin's home. It was small, but felt cozy and warm. The kitchen was on Jean's right side and right next to it was a hallway with three doors. On his left is what seemed to be the living room which held a small coffee table, a sofa that seemed a little beaten up and a huge squared TV. Looking in the front there was a sliding door which Jean assumed lead outside to a balcony.

"You think? I guess it's nice," Armin responded as he pulled off his backpack. "I'll be back... I'm going to go turn on the heater." The little blond ran off down into the hallway leaving Jean alone to look around more. Walking slowly towards the balcony door, he stopped as he came across a few photos lying on the coffee table. He picked one up and saw that inside the frame was a picture of a small boy with long blonde hair who looked about the age of three or four. Behind him were a man and a woman whom bared resemblance to Armin.

The woman had big blues eyes just like Armin's which were absolutely beautiful. But her hair seemed to be darker, while the man's hair was a shining color that looked exactly like Armin's. These were his parents. The lovely couple whom Armin had lost at a very tender age. Suddenly, there was a noise of air coming out of the air vents, snapping Jean out of his thoughts. Giving out a content sigh, he followed the warmth until he found one of the vents on the upper wall and slumped down directly under it.

The only thing bothering him at the moment was his clothes clinging onto his chest. Man, he wished he could have brought an extra shirt with him or something. He then heard a small _thump, thump,_ and saw Armin come from out the hall way with a small towel on his head another one in his hand, which he gave to Jean.

"Ah. Thanks," Jean took it from the smaller hands and began to dry his hair and face and then heard a body slump down next to him and heave out a sigh.

"I'm so glad to finally be indoors," Armin said as he pulled the towel over his eyes. "And under the heater."

"The only thing that's bugging me is that my clothes are wet," the brunet complained as he tugged at the neck of his shirt. Armin turned to look at him and then stood up.

"I may be able to help with that," the blond turned and then ran back into the hallway leaving Jean in confusion. What exactly was this boy up to? The wind was still blowing pretty strong outside and the rain seemed to be falling like bullets being shot. Man, Jean was happy Armin had invited him over. If not it would have been super freezing in his car without the heater. Speaking of which, what exactly was he going to do with his car now?

Suddenly, there was a loud popping noise and the sound of energy being cut. The air conditioner powered down and everything came to a dead silence. The power had just gone out. Jean gave out a huge sigh and slammed his fist against the floor. It was starting to get cold again and this really irked him. Shivering he stood up to go look for Armin and make sure he was alright, but was suddenly hit by something very soft.

Pulling at the object and finally looking at it correctly, the brunet realized it was his green sweater that he had let Armin borrow. So this whole time Jean thought he had it, in truth it had been with Armin. Jean smiled happily as he wrapped his hands in the sweater.

"Hey, thanks! I've been looking for this all over. I thought I had lost it," he said as he began to pull of the shirt he was wearing at the moment. "I never would have thought I had left it with you."

Armin gave out a small laugh. Of course Jean had forgotten. He watched over the brunet as he pulled out his shirt after his sweater, revealing his well built body and abs. Staring, Armin was staring again, but he couldn't help it. Jean's body was something to look at and he Armin took full advantage of that until the taller boy had pulled the other sweater over himself.

"Mhm? Something's... Different," Jean said as he pulled the jacket near his nose. He took a deep breath and noticed that the sweater smelled very much like flowers and soap, and not like it had before. Armin scratched at the back of his head.

"I hope you don't mind, but I washed it. It was very dirty after it was splashed in rain water," the blond explained. Jean shook his head.

"No, it's alright. Thanks actually," Jean brought the sweater back to his nose again and inhaled its smell. It was a bit intoxicating yet nice and smelt vaguely familiar.

"Well, it's getting cold in here so I brought this out," Armin tugged at a huge blanket that was being dragged on the floor since it did not all fit in his hands. He went over to Jean and handed it to him and then sat across from him unlike he had before.

"Won't you get cold?" The brunet asked as he began to wrap the blanket around himself.

"I'll be fine." Liar. Jean absolutely knew Armin was lying. His teeth were chattering and he was trying his best to stop himself from shivering but it wasn't working. The taller teen gave a small glare towards the blond and then scooted over to his side. "What are you doing?"

Jean threw the blanket over Armin's shoulders and himself so that they were both covered. The blond almost immediately stopped shivering since the blanket was very warm.

"You're pretty bad at lying when your teeth are chattering," Jean said jokingly.

"Shut up," Armin said back. Now that Armin looked at it, Jean was being fairly nice to him. It was strange and made the blond only wonder what it could be that had the taller male acting like this. It couldn't have to do with the incident that had occurred earlier that day, could it? Armin hoped not.

"You're awfully quiet," Jean suddenly said. Armin wrapped his arms around his legs and brought him up to his chest.

"Well, mostly because we have nothing to talk about."

"What? We have plenty of things to talk about!"

Armin scoffed. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

Jean pauses for a moment and began to think. What could he possibly talk to Armin about? "Do you have a girlfriend?"

The blond was stunned by the question. "What?"

"You heard me. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"This isn't a slumber party, Jean," Armin said sarcastically. Jean lightly punched him in the shoulder.

"You little mouth-off. But seriously, do you or do you not?"

"Why do you want to know?" Armin asked suspiciously.

"Hey, I'm just wondering. All you have to say is yes or no." Armin stayed silent for a moment. Why, out of all things would Jean possibly want to know that? Giving out a huff Armin answered the question.

"I don't actually," Jean stared down at the other male.

"See that wasn't so hard was it?"

"No, I guess not...My turn then. Do _you_ have a girlfriend?" Jean began to laugh hysterically after Armin had asked that. The blond stared at him wide eyed and in shock.

"Are you serious?" Jean asked half sarcasticly. Armin nodded his head, of course he was serious.

"Yeah I am," Jean rubbed the back of his neck while he continued to laugh.

"Well, at the moment, no. Why else do you thing I'm trying to get at Mikasa?" Jean replied with a small smirk.

'Oh that's right,' Armin thought, 'how could I have forgotten?'

"Speaking of which, has Mikasa said anything about me?" The blond went into a cold sweat and gave a nervous glance to the other boy. He pushed his two index fingers together and then looked over to Jean.

"Not really..." The brunet stared at the blond and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Really?" Armin turned to him and began to protest.

"Well, it's really hard to bring you up in a conversation when Eren doesn't like you and Mikasa is extremely quiet! Besides, I don't want to sound like I'm way too attached to you or something by talking to you all the time!"

'I wouldn't mind,' Jean thought but then shook that idea out of his head. 'Remember Jean, you're playing for the girl, not this little shrimp.'

"Keep trying then," the taller male said bluntly as he pulled the blanket even more onto himself.

"Whatever. It's not like you've been holding your end of the deal either," Armin said smugly. Jean turned and gave him a small glare.

"It's not my fault if you think about it. I had to work and besides, do you really want to go running out in this rain?" Jean fought back. The blond went silent as he glared at the other boy who was now grinning. "Exactly."

"So, why don't you have a girlfriend?" Armin asked Jean who just shrugged and stared at the wall in front of him.

"I guess because, well... Things don't always work out, you know? One day you're the cutest couple on campus, or something, but the next day you're what everyone's talking about," Jean gave a small pause. "No, that's not really why. I guess I just haven't found the one yet."

"But we're only in high school. It could be a while before we find the one," Jean continued. "Besides, I still have time to find someone. But I have a strong feeling that someone is Mikasa."

'Although, I seriously doubt myself right now,' Jean said in his mind. He observed the blond as he tilted his head sideways and gave out a sigh.

"Geez, you're really fixated on her aren't you?"

"Who wouldn't be? She's just so... Beautiful! You've been her friend for years, haven't you? Didn't you ever like her?" This time Armin was the one who burst out laughing.

"I'll admit, I always have thought she was pretty, but... Well I guess you could say there was a point in time I felt something more for her. But I ended up ignoring it since I see her very much like a sister and she seems to have only eyes for Eren," the blond explained.

"Why does she only have eyes for him?" Armin shrugged at Jean's question which brought out a heavy sigh from him. "Whatever. In the end I'm sure I'll get her! By the way, why don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Guess the same reason you don't. That and I'm always mistaken for a girl," Armin stated. Jean gulped as he heard Armin's voice get low when he said that.

"Well, hey it can't be that bad right?" Jean said nervously. The blond spun his head back and looked at Jean.

"You think it's not that bad, but it is. I'm always constantly being hit on by other guys and called all these names. It just makes you feel bad because, well... It's just such an insult. And some guys don't even take the hint," Armin pause and buried his face into his arms. "Some guys just take it too far."

"Wait, nobody has ever done anything wrong to you have they!? Armin, of someone has you have to report this!" Jean was now yelling and gripping the blonds shoulder. Armin gently pulled Jean's hand off him and set it on the floor.

"It only happened once, really. It was also about two or three years ago. Now the only bad things that happen are the flirting and naming calling. Honestly, I think all the boys know I'm a guy, they just choose to tease me over my looks," the blond then went quiet and Jean felt guilt sting him. He quickly put his hand over Armin's, which made the blond surprised.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know... I shouldn't have said anything. I really am sorry," Jean looked down to the floor. He felt really bad now. He had no intention on making Armin think about something bad again.

"Don't be. You didn't know. But at least now you know why Eren flung himself at you. It's always been like that actually, but ever since then Eren has always been extra vigilant of when guys are around me. Or anyone in particular who has a menacing look," Armin said as he smiled softly. Jean then began to move his hand away from Armin's. The blond felt a little sad when he had removed it and would gladly take his hand back into his. But he knew very well he shouldn't.

"Yeah, but I'm still sorry," the taller boy repeated, "C-can I ask you something? I mean that is if you don't mind..."

Armin shook his head. "No, it's alright. I mean, I do trust you after all."

Jean felt his heart do a flip when Armin had said that. He trusted him, something that Jean thought he'd never hear from the boy. Gaping, he suddenly felt and urge to pull Armin in and just squeeze him. But he knew he couldn't and shouldn't. So instead he only talked on.

"Did... W-well. Did he like... completely... um... do things to you?" Jean held his breath as he waited for a response. Armin shook his head again and Jean felt total relief. He could even feel his muscles become less tense.

"He didn't, no. I was able to stop him, and then, well Eren came along. And well Eren, he um... He kind of beat him up," Armin gave out a sheepish look as he said that which made Jean laugh. He turned to look at the blond again, his urge to just wrap his arms around him growing even more.

"But, he didn't do anything to severe did he?"

"Nope. I'm perfectly fine," Armin gave another small, rare smile to Jean, making the brunet slightly blush.

"That's good. You know... I could grow used to you," Jean said with a small chuckle.

"I thought you already had?" The blond stared up to the other male whom was still laughing.

"Maybe I have and just don't know it," he said grinning. Armin gave out a small laugh and then they both went back into silence. Jean was now seriously resisting the urge. He swore he could feel his arm already trying to tangle its way behind Armin. But it didn't. Instead Jean sat there, staring down at the smaller boy. He could feel the familiar scent of the boy, which strongly resembled the smell of his sweater.

'So that's why it seemed familiar,' Jean thought. He couldn't help but notice the boy's features again. He was just so adorable. Armin was even noticing how close the two were at the moment. It had been like earlier, except this time they weren't in such an embarrassing position. Jean really couldn't take it anymore. Slowly he raised his arm and tried to get it over Armin. He was almost there until he felt and strong buzz come from his pocket which startled him and Armin.

The blond turned to look at Jean who had his arm raised. The brunet became flustered and quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"S-sorry. I was just getting my phone," Jean answered it and began to practically glare into it. "What is it?"

"Hey, Jean!" It was Marco. Of course he had to ruin the moment.

"Oh, hey Marco. What's up?" Jean tried his hardest to not sound like he was pissed but he was failing.

"Nothing much, but your car is still out here. Are you guys still studying?"

'Oh that's right,' Jean thought to himself. 'Marco had to stay after school to make up for his missing work.'

"Ah, no we finished actually. I just couldn't get the thing to work so I came over to Armin's house," he replied.

"Really? Armin's house?" Marco had a tone of suspicion in his voice. "Well, are you coming by any time soon? Maybe I could help you fix it or something?"

"Sure. I'll be over soon okay? Bye," Jean hung up the phone as Marco said his farewell.

"Are you leaving?" Armin asked as he stared up at Jean, his big blue eyes shining brightly.

"Yeah I am. Sorry, but I guess I really do have to go fix my car," the taller male replied. Armin nodded his head and got up from underneath the blanket. Jean did the same and followed the boy to the main door. "You'll be okay alone right?"

"Of course I will be," Armin said. Jean gave out a chuckle.

"It was nice of you to come over," Armin suddenly said. He had no idea why he had just said that, but it just felt so right.

"Nah. Thanks for letting me stay out of the rain. Maybe next time we can watch a movie or something," the brunet suggested. "Actually next time, we should start getting you into shape. Hopefully that's sometime soon, huh?"

Armin nodded his head. "Yep. So, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I'll see you tomorrow," Jean waved at Armin and then turned and began to walk down the stairs. Armin waited until he was completely out of sigh before closing the door and sliding down onto the floor. Just what was going on here?

Why had he told Jean such a personal thing? And he told him he trusted him? Armin covered his face with his hands. He felt so flustered and embarrassed. Jean was a boy, he couldn't feel this way for him! Yet, he could feel his heart thumping a million miles per hour.

"So, how was it at Armin's?" Marco asked as he closed the door shut to Jean's car. They had been out in the rain for the last twenty minutes trying to find out what exactly was wrong with the car. When they had they both immediately raced into the car and out of the rain.

"It was... Normal, I guess," Jean said as he started up the car. Marco gave a smile as he fixed his hair.

"Why'd you sound so mad over the phone?"

"I didn't," Jean denied.

"Mhhhmm... No, you did sound pretty mad. Was I interrupting something?" Marco gave a sly smile as he saw Jean's cheeks turn a bit red.

"Hey, come on now. We were just hanging out. It was nothing like that," the freckled-faced boy knew very well Jean was lying. After all these years the two had been together, Jean still insisted on lying to him, but Marco was now able to tell when he was.

"Alright, alright. Will you drive me home though?" Marco asked very sweetly. Jean gave out a sigh, nodded, and then began to drive out of the parking lot.

Jean may have not been telling Marco the truth, but he knew very well what it was. He had seen that look many times in the brunet's eyes. If would have known any better he would have said it was just Jean's face. But it wasn't. And now Marco was seriously pondering this question.

'_Does Jean really have a crush on Armin?'_

~**Authors note**.~ This one was a lot easier to write yet still hard to write. I stayed up two nights finishing this up and now it is complete! Yay! It may be super short and I don't even know it. Next chapter will be up soon! For now, thanks for reading and please leave reviews! I would love to see your guys thoughts! See you next time!~


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